I love you, Lord, my strength. – Psalm 18:2
Love is the number one priority of the Christian life. Jesus confirms that love of God and love of neighbor are His top two priorities for us in today’s Gospel reading where He puts forth the Greatest Commandment to love: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength…You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:29-31). As I’ve been reflecting on this passage, this personal question to God has come up a couple of times: “Lord, I want to love You with all my strength, but I feel so weak lately. How can I love You from where I am weak?”
Then a few things came to me in prayer that I thought I would share in case you’ve ever felt tired, weak, or poured out. (Anybody else? Just me? lol) Jesus said to me that to gain strength to love, I need to rest in Him. That He will be the supply of my strength. We will sing this very Responsorial Psalm at Mass this Sunday: “I love you, Lord my strength” (Psalm 18:2). Isaiah proclaims that God is His strength: “For the Lord is my strength and my might” (Isaiah 12:2).
Side note: Don’t you love when God surprises you with little things? As I was pondering this, I looked up to the right of my desk and I saw this verse that I sit beside every day and have not fully pondered until this moment: “They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up like with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
He gives power to the faint, abundant strength to the weak. Isaiah 40:29
My next question was “How?” How can we allow God to be our strength through resting in Him? I started thinking of all the ways I could rest in Him and how I could draw strength from them. First, I find rest for my soul in silent prayer, especially in the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. I often visit the tabernacle in the church to pause to give Him thanks, let my mind rest, and just be near Him physically. Daily Mass also gives me space for resting in Jesus. He feeds me Himself with His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity to strengthen me.
I also find rest in a daily walk outside. I take a cup of coffee and watch the stars fade and the sun rise and share my worries with Jesus. Just being in God’s creation is restful for me. I also find rest reading and reflecting on Scripture. My pace has to physically slow to be able to read and reflect. I also find rest in my small group of Bible study friends when we gather to pray, learn, and simply to share each other’s company. I often leave feeling deeply rested. What are the ways that you find rest in God? How can you allow Him to renew your strength so you can love Him with it in return?
Lord, teach me to rest in You. I can run my life to the margins and think that I don’t have time to pause and rest. I need You to show me the way to rest so that I can regain my strength to love and serve You.
Here’s a list of other verses on strength to inspire you further:
- 2 Corinthians 12:9 – “My grace is all you need, for my power is the greatest when you are weak.”
- Psalm 73:26 – “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
- Nehemiah 8:10 – “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
- Deuteronomy 31:6 – Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.
- Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
- Isaiah 40:31 – But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
- Isaiah 41:10 – Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
- Exodus 15:2 – The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
- 1 Chronicles 16:11 – Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continually!
- Ephesians 6:10 – Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
- Exodus 15:2 – The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.