When we go through a situation where we need to be sustained, we may not feel very strong. In fact, we may realize just how weak we really are. We may have lost control of a situation. We may have come to the end of ourselves and cannot reason our way out of the trouble. Our self-sufficiency no longer works. We fall on our knees and beg God to help us find strength.
But over time, as we experience more of God’s sustaining power, we look back and see personal growth. We now believe with more certainty that God can be trusted. He helped us before. He knows more than we know about our current challenge. Our faith has been tested and strengthened. Now we can share with others that this inner strength is not from our own efforts, but rather a time-tested proof of what God can do.
Like consistent exercise, our faith muscles contract and grow, which supports our belief systems. God’s strength filters through us and within us so that we can be who God created us to be.
As the Apostle Paul reminds us, “We pray that we may live a life worthy of the Lord, and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that we may have great endurance and patience….” (Colossians 1:10-11 NIV).
As we look back or perhaps read some of our past journal entries, we begin to understand more of what God has done for us. How God has shared the eternal riches of divine power with us in order to help us grow so that we can be his disciples and help others.
In Ephesians 3:16-19, Paul outlines this type of sustaining power:
- Out of God’s glorious riches, he strengthens us with power.
- This power flows through the Spirit into our inner being which produces true wholeness.
- Christ dwells in our hearts through this strengthened faith.
- We feel more loved, even rooted deeply in God’s wide, long, and high love.
- God’s strengthening and sustaining love surpasses just knowing about it. This is a spiritual experience.
- We are filled with the fullness of God.
Sustained. Strengthened. Powerful. Increasingly full of God’s love.
This is how the power of being sustained strengthens us — no matter what the challenge.
©2026 RJ Thesman – All Rights Reserved
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What is your favorite Bible verse or passage about God’s sustaining power? Check out more info about God’s sustaining power in Sustain Us, Oh Lord: Finding Strength When Life is Hard.