The Lord gives strength to his people.
Psalm 29:11

When you exercise your body, you push yourself beyond what is comfortable so that your muscles become stronger. Stretching, flexing, and taxing your body’s muscles produce pain, but their recovery results in harder, leaner tissue that has more density and power. It’s never easy, but knowing the outcome—a stronger, healthier body—motivates us to exercise.

We rarely approach spiritual conditioning the same way, but we might be surprised that the training principle is similar. No one deliberately rushes into a crisis with a calm, peaceful focus unless they have been through hard times before and experienced the power of the Lord. Reflecting on the past and the ways you’ve grown can help you realize that you’re more than able to conquer anything you face today.

We know that God empowers us beyond the limitations of our own abilities. He knows what we can bear and, like a good coach, only pushes us to make us stronger.

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Pray: “Lord, life can be painful sometimes, but you will see me through anything that comes my way. Thank you for strengthening me with your supernatural power.”