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Salt + Sparrow

God's Strength
Spiritual Growth

Letting God’s Strength Work Through Your Weakness

September 7, 2021

I often hear people offer these words when a woman is going through a hard time:

“You just have to be strong”

And while I know this advice is meant to be helpful, I can’t help but think about how inaccurate that is.

I think of all the added pressure it must add onto a woman’s heart when she is already struggling. Another weight added onto her already sinking ship.

More that she has to try to try to do on her own.

And if you have heard this before when you are going through a hard time, I want to tell you that the reality is that you don’t have to be strong.

God’s Strength Works Through our Weakness

You can fall to your knees. You don’t have to stay standing trying to be strong.

Fall to the feet of Jesus.
Weep until you have no tears left.
Bring every complicated piece of your heart to God, because He is strong enough to handle it.
And He is waiting to carry whatever is it that is heavy on your heart.

Come exactly as you are with whatever feelings you are carrying. And then share it with Him.

If you are feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, don’t try to push it down and carry on. If you are feeling heartbroken and filled with grief, don’t try to put on a smile. If you are filled with fear and worry, don’t try to muscle through it.

Find your way to His presence.
Fall on your face.
Hand Him every broken piece of your heart.
Open your hands in surrender.
Cast all of your burdens onto Him.
Don’t hold back or pretend.

Bring every raw and unfiltered feeling to Him, He is not scared of your questions or your confusion.  He isn’t offended when you feel disappointed or angry about life.

He never expected you to be strong, so don’t let people tell you have to be.

My friend, you will never be strong enough to carry all of the burdens that life will throw at you.

There will be storms that will knock you to the ground and leave you breathless, but that is not where your story will end, because you have a God who will carry you through.

A God whose strength works best through your weakness.
A God who can redeem pain.
A God who collects your tears.
A God who can turn evil into good.

God isn’t scared to pick up the jagged sharp pieces of your heart. He isn’t afraid to walk through the rubble to find you. What seems impossible for you, isn’t for Him.

Let Him be strong for you. Let Him see every weak piece that you are trying to hide from others.

And while healing may not come immediately, transformation will eventually happen.

When you sit in the presence of Jesus things begin to change. He will be with you as you cry. He will hold you in His arms and comfort you. He will begin to bandage your wounds with His love and mercy. His peace will begin to cover you. You will begin to regain your strength.

I have heard these words before myself “You just have to be strong,” and I and so thankful that I realized they were not true – because if I hadn’t, I believe I would still be struggling in my own strength.

But now I can tell of my story, that I once was weak. That I once was broken. That I once was walking in darkness. That I once had no strength left and then I fell at the feet of Jesus. And in Him I found everything I needed. Through Him I found healing.

And as I sat in His presence I felt His love fall upon me. And through His love and grace I regained my strength. I wasn’t strong enough but He was strong enough for me.

I will never be strong in my own strength but I will forever be a fragile humbled woman on my face before a mighty God who lifts me up and pours His strength over me and I pray that whoever reads this knows He can do the same for you too.

God's strength through our weakness
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Jennifer Toscano

Jennifer started her blog, A Heart Full of Hope in 2020 after a dear friend encouraged her to start writing. She had kept a prayer journal for years, and those prayers and notes turned into her first blog posts. She has found so much joy in writing about her faith journey, and she hopes that her words help encourage other women to seek God above all else.

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The Comments

  • Subash
    September 8, 2021

    Thank you for sharing your thoughts, such a great words of encouragements really needed.

    Reply
    • Salt & Sparrow
      Subash
      September 8, 2021

      Thank you, Subash!!! 🙏🏻

      Reply
    • Jennifer toscano
      Subash
      September 10, 2021

      Blessings to you, my friend.

      Reply
  • Cheryl
    September 10, 2021

    Jennifer, Thank you for your words, not that I don’t already know My Lord but for the reminders of His abiding Love.
    I am going through something I feel is tremendous right now and my heart is breaking. My child sooo needs prayers. Thank you so
    Much for all your words and the help they have given me.

    Reply
    • Salt & Sparrow
      Cheryl
      September 10, 2021

      Praying for you and your child, Cheryl! Know that whatever it is you’re going through, you are not alone.

      Reply
    • Jennifer toscano
      Cheryl
      September 10, 2021

      I am praying too, Cheryl. I am so glad to hear my words helped you during this hard season you are walking through. May God give you strength to endure and cling to His promises. He hears the cries of your heart!
      Blessings,
      Jennifer

      Reply

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Grab your coffee and stay awhile

Welcome to Salt + Sparrow, a place where we learn about Jesus, the Bible, and find big faith in small things.

Amen 🙏🏻 @hertrueworth #faithquotes #christ Amen 🙏🏻 @hertrueworth 

#faithquotes #christianmoms #truth #blessed #relationshipwithgod #prayer #christianmomma #christianlifestyle #christianity #faithblogger #christianmother #faithinmotion #faithblog #christianliving #christians #momsoffaith #biblestudy #jesusalways #faith #bibleverse #pray
Every single person you meet was created by, and l Every single person you meet was created by, and loved by God. 

Even the ones who have hurt you. 

Next time you’re tempted to act out in anger, or envy, or hurt.. stop for a moment and think.. how would Jesus behave in this situation? 

Learning to respond to others for who they are rather than what they’ve done… or the emotion their actions have triggered in you, will bring you peace and freedom. 

💛
.
.
.
.
.
#faithblogger #christianblogger #christianwomen #christianlifestyle
I was recently gifted the book, Grit Don’t Quit: I was recently gifted the book, Grit Don’t Quit: Developing Resilience and Faith When Giving Up Isn’t an Option, by Bianca Juarez Olthoff. And it couldn’t have come into my life at a better time.

I think we’ve all gone through times in our life when failure has threatened to keep us down. When getting back up after yet another fall feels seemingly impossible.

And I hate to break it to you, but we will all face failure at some point in our lives. Sometimes repeatedly. But the really amazing thing about failure is that it give us options:

We can either let failure destroy our confidence and our faith and keep us from living up to our full potential.

Or we call view failure as another chance.

Embracing failure is a concept that may be difficult to adopt at first, but when we can view failure as a learning opportunity and quickly get back up on our feet, we win. It’s also a chance to turn to God and say hey.. here’s my weakness. And it’s only through our weaknesses that we can turn to God and find His strength.

So.. are you going to change the way you view failure? Or are you going to let it hold you back?

@biancaolthoff 

I'll link a giveaway for this book in stories so go check it out there!

#gritdontquit #gritdontquitbook #bookstagram #grit #christianbooks
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

"This verse isn’t promising that bad things won’t happen. It simply reminds us nothing can touch us when we live in Christ Jesus. We might experience loss and hardship, but our ultimate destination is heavenly perfection. 

So today, if you are living consumed with fear, practice surrender.

Take a deep breath and know that no matter what, you are loved and you will be ok.

God is Big Enough to hold our biggest hurts and make them beautiful." 

@mrsheidivegh 

#christianmomma #christians #christianlifestyle #faithblogger #christianmother #faithblog #faithquotes #relationshipwithgod #faithinmotion #prayer #christianliving #christianmoms #momsoffaith #truth #christianity #blessed
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About

Amen 🙏🏻 @hertrueworth #faithquotes #christ Amen 🙏🏻 @hertrueworth 

#faithquotes #christianmoms #truth #blessed #relationshipwithgod #prayer #christianmomma #christianlifestyle #christianity #faithblogger #christianmother #faithinmotion #faithblog #christianliving #christians #momsoffaith #biblestudy #jesusalways #faith #bibleverse #pray
Every single person you meet was created by, and l Every single person you meet was created by, and loved by God. 

Even the ones who have hurt you. 

Next time you’re tempted to act out in anger, or envy, or hurt.. stop for a moment and think.. how would Jesus behave in this situation? 

Learning to respond to others for who they are rather than what they’ve done… or the emotion their actions have triggered in you, will bring you peace and freedom. 

💛
.
.
.
.
.
#faithblogger #christianblogger #christianwomen #christianlifestyle
I was recently gifted the book, Grit Don’t Quit: I was recently gifted the book, Grit Don’t Quit: Developing Resilience and Faith When Giving Up Isn’t an Option, by Bianca Juarez Olthoff. And it couldn’t have come into my life at a better time.

I think we’ve all gone through times in our life when failure has threatened to keep us down. When getting back up after yet another fall feels seemingly impossible.

And I hate to break it to you, but we will all face failure at some point in our lives. Sometimes repeatedly. But the really amazing thing about failure is that it give us options:

We can either let failure destroy our confidence and our faith and keep us from living up to our full potential.

Or we call view failure as another chance.

Embracing failure is a concept that may be difficult to adopt at first, but when we can view failure as a learning opportunity and quickly get back up on our feet, we win. It’s also a chance to turn to God and say hey.. here’s my weakness. And it’s only through our weaknesses that we can turn to God and find His strength.

So.. are you going to change the way you view failure? Or are you going to let it hold you back?

@biancaolthoff 

I'll link a giveaway for this book in stories so go check it out there!

#gritdontquit #gritdontquitbook #bookstagram #grit #christianbooks
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

"This verse isn’t promising that bad things won’t happen. It simply reminds us nothing can touch us when we live in Christ Jesus. We might experience loss and hardship, but our ultimate destination is heavenly perfection. 

So today, if you are living consumed with fear, practice surrender.

Take a deep breath and know that no matter what, you are loved and you will be ok.

God is Big Enough to hold our biggest hurts and make them beautiful." 

@mrsheidivegh 

#christianmomma #christians #christianlifestyle #faithblogger #christianmother #faithblog #faithquotes #relationshipwithgod #faithinmotion #prayer #christianliving #christianmoms #momsoffaith #truth #christianity #blessed
God had already been speaking to me for some time God had already been speaking to me for some time about how my desire to control the details and direction of my life was getting in the way of my trust in Him and my submission to Him.

The fear of not being in control had stolen my contentment, joy, and peace. So many opportunities and relationships had been strangled or suffocated due to the struggle for control.

The Lord had been directing me to practice putting my full trust in Him.

While I used to spend much of my energy worrying and controlling, God began teaching me to put all of that effort into trusting Him instead.

Friends, as I look back over my life, I cannot think of one time that I regret surrendering to God and yielding control to Him. Was it difficult and painful? Indeed it was.

Did I take it back untold times, having to surrender again and again? You bet.

But this I’ve discovered: as we lean into our powerlessness and His sovereignty, we experience new levels of freedom and joy.

Once upon a time, I would have thought that losing control was the worst thing that could happen to me. Now I know that releasing it was what I needed most.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, help me to yield this new area of control to you– I surrender myself and all of my brokenness. Guide me and remind me each day to put my full effort into trusting You.

@jamiedesilvia 

Full post on saltsparrow.com

 #pray #faith #prayer #bibleverse #biblestudy #bibleversedaily #faithinmotion #faithblogger #christianmomma #jesusalways #faithblog #faithquotes #christianmoms #christianmother #christianlife #christianlifestyle #momsoffaith #christianliving #relationshipwithgod #christians #faithbased #momswhoreadthebible
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