Pippi's Pilgrimage

Stronger

by Tina

I don’t deserve You 

But you love me anyways

I could never earn You 

But You fight to make a way.

You draw me to you 

Even when I pull away 

Your love is stronger 

When I think I’ve lost my way. 

I don’t deserve You…

But your mercy saves the day. 

Tina 

March 9, 2022

Be Strong

I was really struggling one day recently. Well, to be honest, it has been more than one day. It’s an ongoing thing. I’ve had days where I’ve grown so weary of the endless trials. The ongoing holding pattern (desert or wasteland) that seems to perpetually plague me. 

I’m not complaining about the pandemic. The pandemic was only an extension of the trials– a prolonging of this dessert season. But perhaps it’s a means to an end. There’s always that.

Now that I’ve got the facts out of the way… 

I was taking a walk to a local park. I was feeling weary and worn when I looked down and saw a rock marked “Be strong.” Signed ‘Brownies.’ 

Earlier that day one of my blogging friends had commented “Bee strong” among a few other encouraging bees. 🐝🐝🐝 ❤❤❤

God tells us to be strong and courageous so this is perfectly acceptable encouragement.

Nevertheless, my mood was low and I wasn’t feeling strong.  Inwardly I questioned “How do you simply ‘be strong’ when you’re feeling like your strength is gone? Yes, I should have been addressing this question to God. But thankfully he hears all. 

By the way, these Brownies aren’t fairies as Andrew thought I was suggesting upon mention of my signpost. 😄

Nor are they the ever popular chewy chocolate comfort food.😉

The Brownies that left this stone are a section of the Girl Guides, aged 7-10. 

Cool side note: Stones were also used in Biblical times as an important message of remembrance.

Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”

  1 Samuel 7:12 

“Be strong” is a strong message for 7 – 10 year olds. What do these girls do when they aren’t feeling strong? Do they feel small and weak as I often do? Again I pose the question ‘How do you simply ‘Be Strong’ when you feel as if your strength is gone? 

After reading a Book by Bruce Wilkonson called The Dream Giver I was guided to study the Book of Exodus. All of life is a journey. If you find yourself caught in a dry place on the path, Exodus is a great book of the Bible to revive those dry bones as you witness God and His servant Moses in action. 

As I was writing up a Summary for chapter 3:7-10 my answer came to me. Moses hesitated when God called him to lead the Isrealites. He didn’t believe he was a great man. But God promised Moses that He would be with Him. 

As I summarized these verses I concluded that faith requires staying or going. Both can be a difficult test of faith. God commanded Moses to go, promising that He would be with him. God also told Moses that the proof he had been sent by God would be that he would lead the people out of Egypt and that all of them would worship Him on the mountain of God where God made His presence known to Moses.

God requires us to move forward OR wait patiently with faith. The proof comes AFTER the required action. This means we must be strong and courageous. Remember that courage doesn’t come without fear. Courage moves despite the fear or hesitation.

It occurred to me that this is very much like one of those TRUST exercises where you’re told to fall back into someone’s arms…. Bingo!

And then it came to me: The song below. God still speaks and guides. He also rejoices over us with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17) 

I wondered…. if I placed my own stones alongside that Brownie stone if they’d remain there. It’s worth trying. Message delivered and mission accomplished. Somebody might need this signpost. That stone does look better with company.

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

“She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.”

Proverbs 31:25

God knows and provides what we need…

Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?…

Matthew 6:28-30

22 thoughts on “Stronger”

  1. The proof comes after the required action- yes! We need reminding of this often. It is hard to be strong when you feel defeated. But your words here are truly an encouragement to persevere in being strong because we know that the Lord will come through Always.
    Love the stones you added.
    Blessings Tina 💙

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  2. This is such an encouraging post. Thank you, my friend, for sharing your heart. I always appreciate how open you are. I have had some periods when I struggle too. But the beauty in this post reminds us that God will send us encouragement when we need it, and that we need to cling to Him as our strength, whether we are waiting or pressing forward. I am so thankful for the Lord, who is always near. Prayers and blessings, friend! ♥️

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    1. Yes, he most definitely does send us encouragement when we need it. I’m thankful that He is always near as well. Thank you so much Bridget. Prayers and blessings to you as well, my friend. ❤

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  3. Sweet daughter I am proud of you because you continue to seek Jesus and seek to grow. You are a blessing sweet daughter. It is so cool that the rock was there when you looked down. It was a God moment of your Heavenly Father getting your attention in a beautiful way.

    By the way, this time you beat me to it. I never heard the video before 🙂

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  4. I love finding those stones and I love the company you added to them. Strength is a hard thing to summon at times when we feel anything but. Good thing His strength is always there to call on. Thanks for a wonderful poem and encouraging post. Blessings, friend. ❤

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  5. It’s great that the “Be Strong” stone was along your path. When it is difficult to be strong, we can be strong in the Lord surrounding ourselves with His full armor of protection.
    Isaiah 41:10 is one of my go-to scriptures.
    I love the new stone gathering! Have a peace-filled week, Tina!💖🌷🐝💐😊🌺

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    1. Oh, thank you so much, my sweet friend. Victoria, BC is a drive and a fairy ride away from us. Yes, maybe one day it’ll be a destination to visit. Thanks so much for thinking of me and sharing. That made me smile. 🙂❤

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  9. That my friend is a beautiful poem. I love the idea of leaving rock messages. You never know who might need that. It might be the ray of hope that one struggling person needs. Plus it helps you. Finding ways to spread your faith when you are feeling adrift in a desert. ❤️

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  11. I so love that you added stones to that one for others to find. How beautiful! I have a little platter full of stones painted with scriptures and some just beautiful stones painted by God’s brush alone. Thank you for the reminder that it is faith in Him, not in me.

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    1. Thank you Dawn. A platter of stones painted with scriptures and some painted by God Himself sounds really lovely. I like to collect heart shaped stones. I turned one of them into an Ebenezer stone by super gluing it to a piece of photo paper with the verse ‘He has seen us safe thus far’, framed and hung by our door. We had quite the ordeal during our last move. But he did bring us through it. Something I need to remind myself of when I’m struggling. Yes, faith in Him not ourselves for sure. Thanks back at ya. ❤

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