In what was an incredibly tough week at SOT, seeking God’s strength got this student past the load of assignments.
By Clinton Dixon
From the outset, I should have been more prepared. It was like trying to scale an ever-growing mountain this week just keep getting tougher and tougher. Three books reviews, 10 sermon outlines and one exam all in one week. Assignment due dates had been posted many months back so it wasn’t like we didn’t see it coming but that hadn’t softened the fall in any way. If this was God’s master plan to stretch my capacity and the capacities of my fellow classmates He was doing a first class job.
Reading three books in a week is not my idea of fun even for a person who likes to read and it felt like I had a book superglued to hand day after day. If I wasn’t reading I was thinking about why I wasn’t reading and this played on my mind all week. I even had a mental list of where I could and could not read e.g MRT yes, shower no, bus yes, bathroom ok lets not go there…..
As I progressed through the week the strain was taking its toll and I was riding on empty by the time I had to prepare my sermon outlines. It is difficult, quite difficult, okay let’s say it is extraordinarily difficult (my wife can attest to my complaining) seeking God for revelation when you are burning the candle of your life at both ends. I was looking for Scripture, ideas and revelation to get my sermons off the ground but nothing came. Then it came to me last Saturday night in church service the reason of my failure. God spoke to me during worship saying, “Where does your strength come from?” I thought, well it’s obvious God; it’s you right? Then I thought over the past week and realized I had been pulling through by my own strength.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).
It was humbling to see myself as someone in need of help as my pride had taken over completely. I thought I was up to the challenge of the week but as my studies started to suffer each task in front of me seemed to get that much harder. Just where was my strength coming from? God gave me completion in my state of despair as I removed myself out of the equation and sought His strength.
As God stretched me this week I discovered that my ability surpasses the demands requirements when I rely on God’s unlimited capacity. As I uploaded my last assignment, Apostle Paul’s words to the Philippian church never sounded truer; I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13).
