How to Find Strength in God When Life Is Tough

Winter was bearing down on us with a stranglehold that left me breathless at times.  Every morning, I sat beside the window and wondered whether our family was about to walk down the most broken road we’d ever known.  Day after day, I opened God’s Word in hopes that I might to discover how to find strength in God as we faced our storm.

There was a medical prognosis on the horizon, and I was terrified.

I’d been standing on Truth that held the power to slay the giant of fear. I’d been rebuking, taking back ground, worshiping, and fixing my eyes on the pure and good.

Nevertheless, as I lay beneath the sheets in the silence of the night, it kept coming back—a choking feeling that sucked the breath from my lungs and shook me to the core.  The fear felt insurmountable.

How to Find Strength in God When Life Is Tough

I imagine you’ve needed help overcoming a difficult time at some point, too.

Perhaps you told yourself that you trusted God to save you in your storm, but when the wind started blowing, you couldn’t seem to see Jesus over the breakers on the sea.

It happens to us all.

After what felt like weeks of sleepless anxiety, I chastised myself for submitting to the fear and neglecting to stand on what I knew to be true. I wanted to have the neatly packaged answers for how to make it through a storm of worry and fear, but I couldn’t seem to get the truth to my heart.

It felt like a failure.

That was the night I sent a message to a friend and asked for prayer.

Her response came the next day in the form of a long voicemail in which she spoke words that included something like this: “Of course you’re feeling anxiety. Anxiety is not a sin, and God knew you would face it. Instead of being frustrated over it, try to see it as an opportunity to practice what you know to do: worship despite fear, stand on Truth, and fight fear with faith.”

How to Find Strength in God by Practicing What You Know

Her words reframed my struggle.

Like the woman who prays for patience and faces a day of patience-testing trials, I am a woman who prays for a trusting, dependent heart.  While my struggles with fear and anxiety might be direct spiritual attacks from the enemy, God uses these struggles to teach me to practice what I know to be true.

What if you stopped beating yourself up for your ongoing struggle with anxiety, fear, perfectionism, patience, food, or whatever you’re struggling with in this season of life?

What if you saw these struggles in a new light?

The temptation to give in to your struggle is not a sin.

You only sin when you forfeit your will to the temptation and let it overtake you.

You sin when you eat the sleeve of cookies, let the anxiety take root in your heart, or scream at your kids in a moment of impatience.

Facing the temptation is an opportunity to practice what you know about God. Don’t be frustrated that you’re facing it.  Overcoming obstacles with God happens when we practice what we know in the face of temptation.

This obstacle might just lead you to the abundant life you crave.

When God set your feet in this place, he knew the temptations you would face.

These temptations are not too big for him. Turn to him and let him help you overcome the temptation in his power, not your own. Every battle with this temptation is an opportunity to grow.

God uses obstacles in life to help you deepen your roots.

Your greatest struggles today are God’s invitations to let your roots grow deep in him. Granted, God does not create every battle you face. There are battles that come as a result of living in a broken world, the sins of others, and our own sins.

Regardless of the source of your obstacle, this obstacle is God’s invitation to move to a deeper level with him. It is his invitation to go deeper in learning to release control, appearances, fear, or doubt. It is his invitation to encounter him in new ways.

Let’s look at eight empowering Bible verses for strength in hard times together.

8 Empowering Bible Verses to Help You Learn How to Find Strength in God

1. 1 Peter 5:7

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

2. Romans 8:17

Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

3. James 1:12

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

4. Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

5. Proverbs 3:5-6

6. Psalm 27:1

7. Isaiah 41:13

8. Romans 8:18

Don’t grow weary in your struggle. Overcoming obstacles in life with God is possible.  There are unseen victories waiting in the journey, and your Giant-slayer is not too small for the job.

A Free Devotional Filled With Bible Verses for Strength in Hard Times:

I have a gift for you today.  Set Free: Let God Do What You Cannot explores ten realms in which most of us need God to work in our lives and bring deliverance.  We’ll talk about finding freedom from fear, worry, insecurity, bad habits, emotional pain, and more.  This short online devotional will bless you as you let God accomplish what you’ve been unable to achieve through willpower.  Get your download for free with promo code GRACE right here.

These two books are free on Kindle Unlimited or available to purchase in print:

God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone.  Lean Into Grace: Let God’s Grace Heal Your Heart, Refresh Your Soul, and Set You Free shares practical ways to experience God’s freedom, healing, power, and presence in your life.  Find this life-changing book for free on the Kindle Unlimited plan or for 12.99 in print right here.  This book will transform your life and revitalize your relationship with the Lord!

Calling all mothers and daughters!

Additionally, my 12-year-old daughter, Bekah, and I wrote a mother-daughter devotional book to help mothers and daughters grow closer together while connecting with God.  Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith includes 60 devotions with Scripture, commentaries from both of us, conversation starters, and even a shared journaling section.  Multitudes of mothers, daughters, mentors, and younger women are being transformed by this book!  You can find your free Kindle Unlimited eBook or buy it in print for just 11.99 right here.