Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. – John Kennedy
I read this quote on a t-shirt last year and the message really struck with me – pray for strength. This could be applied to my life – and I’m betting yours as well.
Hard times come and they can take the wind out of our sails. But instead of being overcome, we must rise up and tap into the strength God so generously gives!
Whether we are talking about hard times throughout our country or in our own personal lives, God equips us with what we need. But it our duty to pray for strength and then use it.
What is Easy?
I was pondering the word easy the other day. I’ve always considered myself easy – as in, I do my best to not be (too) difficult. I wanted to be easy and not cause others inconvenience, to the best of my ability.
And that’s still true today, but my wording has changed. I’ve realized as a Christian and having standards, taking a stand on matters that I consider important to God doesn’t leave me room to be what others might consider easy. And that’s fine, we all grade things from our own perspective. We each value things in our own way.
Instead of trying to be easy, I’ve decided I’d rather work to not be petty. Pettiness strikes me as too much self-focus anyway.
And sometimes it is important to not be too “easy”, to be the difficult one, to do the hard thing.
Which reminded me of the quote, do not pray for easy lives – pray to be stronger. It is a good reminder to pray for strength to do the right thing, rather than only choose the easy route. Easy things don’t help you grow. Hard times help you grow and develop a strength like none other!
Pray for Strength
So let’s learn to pray for strength! We will all face hard times. And yes, I’m just as human as the next person and sometimes wish things weren’t so difficult. But I’m constantly reminded that hard times are good for us! They draw our attention back to God and give us the opportunity to tap into a strength within that we may have not realized!
And consider this, going through a particularly hard time gracefully will equip you better for moderately hard times ahead! I remind myself of this often and find it fascinating!
Starting our coffee shop had a lot of steps that would ordinarily intimidate me. Interacting with people, asking questions, researching rules and regulations. But as I approached these items an interesting thought struck me – this isn’t the hardest thing I’ve had to do recently, God and I, we’ve got this! And so instead of stepping into these requirements tentatively or apprehensively, I just did it!
And I don’t pretend this was by my own strength. If it wasn’t for God and the prayers of many, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I wouldn’t have the bold courage that I find when challenges arise.
Strong But Sweet
And I’m definitely not trying to blow my own horn. My hope is to inspire you to step into the strength that God so generously gives.
But let me add, a woman should be soft and sweet, within that strength. I so admire women who maintain their femininity but can also hold their own when necessary. That’s who I want to be. Soft and sweet and willing to be protected and cared for, but also strong and courageous when the situation requires it!
So we return to my epiphany at the beginning – my goal isn’t to be easy, but rather to not be petty.
Good things are worth work and things obtained too easily aren’t fully appreciated.
Pray for strength, strength to do life well and strength to represent God well!
Until Next Time!
Hope.
PS. Don’t stop now! Keep reading: https://www.theamericanlady.com/2023/03/29/you-can-do-it/