When I was younger, in my teens, I used to think strength equated to fighting. Which I think is fair. Not too naive to believe whoever won the fight was stronger. If you walked away, you're a punk. If you stood up, fists high, mouth vile... you were strong.
I don't know, maybe I watched too much Jerry Springer or WorldStar videos. But strength has nothing to do with the "power" behind your hands.
I now believe that it is harder to hold back a punch than it is to throw one. I know many people who have been heartbroken in a romantic relationship say that it took more strength to leave than to stay and fight. Which spoke volumes. I wonder how many fights we throw our voices to that really require our silence.
True strength sometimes is not holding tighter but letting go. I don't know how others measure strength but I think when I look to Jesus, he never had to flex a muscle or carry a sword. His strength was his surrender. I saw this thing on Instagram and it said, "We are here trying to climb mountains when God said speak to it."
How many things are we trying to move in our own "strength" that we were never even meant to touch?
Our hands weren't called to carry the weight of the world, his were. Jesus doesn't need your strength but he needs you to rest in his.
I used to be the first one to pop when I felt a type of way. I used my mouth as a weapon for so long instead of a tool. Real strength isn't loud, insecurity is. Fear is. Pain is. It takes nothing to be loud and angry. But it's takes everything to be silent and still.