Becoming Strong

Do you ever get frustrated with people who seem to be weak, and/or not trying in life?  Everything is stacked against them.  There is nothing they can do.  There is nothing they did to deserve what is happening to them currently, and it just keeps happening throughout their life.

“Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, ‘How can I help?’” from the letter to the Roman Church from the Apostle Paul.

Paul is not speaking of tolerating those whom are lazy, unwilling or just plain refusing to do what they need to do to grasp and grow in the faith, or other areas of life.  He, in fact, is telling us to help those who are weak and trying to grow.  Much as we are to help children as they are maturing through life to become productive adults in our society.  Paul is making the same argument for helping those try and he just assumes that those who do not try will not be present any longer.

When we are with people who see them on a daily basis it is easy to see their failures, but not as easy to see their successes in growing in faith and life.  It is especially hard when those successes seem so small and easy to us.  Yet, when you have been weak, or have not been taught how to do things it seems like even the idea of keeping a job, or volunteering for a once a month seems insurmountable.  So the task then is not to see how we can find out the places where people are weak, but rather how to design plans whereby they can grow into the giants that God wants them to become.

So how do we help people become more than they and overcome the mentality of victimhood and weakness?  There are several things that can be done, but there has to be a plan above all else.  There has to be a roadmap of how to get from here to there and detailed steps that can assist a person is seeing progress and growing potential.

First, pray with the person, or yourself, about what you want to accomplish, and be realistic about the goal.  God will not help you accomplish something that requires only work from his side and no effort from yours. In every instance in scripture he tells us if we are faithful he will provide a harvest that we cannot contain.

Second, set short-term goals that moves you, or them, in that direction.  Remember it is not a goal if there is no time line or accountability partner.

Lastly, set goals that step up from the accomplishments of the first goals.  As you, and they, keep redoing these steps along life’s path you, or they, will become one of the strong ones who can help people overcome a difficult life.

Blessings,

Pastor Greg