Quiet power and strength...

When I was 27 and going through a traumatic period of life a mentor stepped forward and prayed "Give her a quiet power and strength." I received it...I thought of it...I tried to make it happen.

Looking back, there was no way I could have manufactured such a divine request.

At 35, I get it. I've always said when age is approached in conversation, that I am proud of my age. That I've "earned" every year of my 35...

I was reminded of the beauty of this while studying and spending time with God this morn. I picked up Lisa Bevere's new book "Lioness Arising" on a whim last week. I began reading it today. I am spell bound.

One thing she says in chapter 2 "I have discovered this dynamic of ease with strength and rest with power is a very telling and beautiful image of a godly woman. Lovely ones, I give you permission to be at ease with your strength and at rest with your power. Usually, these pairings of ease with strength and rest with power come with the passage of time. They fuse as you begin to realize there is a power that abides within. Just as righteousness is a state we rest in, there is a realm where strength is a haven as well. We discover rest when we cease from striving."


Yes. Oh yes. Looking back at the last decade of my life (decade..wow)...I've been learning to "be at ease with my strength and at rest with my power." 

At 25, I believed I knew my entire life path. I thought I'd never learn how to converse with God like I imagined I should in my mind. I was constantly striving...in my mind...with my physical appearance...with God. I could not be at rest. I thought I should have what my mentors already had gleamed...little did I know that "ease with your strength and rest with your power" is a painful process.  It takes time.  You mostly don't even know you've been in the process until you look back. Furthermore, the process never ends.

At 25, I felt like strength was to be exerted...exercised so people would know I possessed it. At 35, the strength is quiet...within...there is no striving. I am at peace with myself, my path, and the unknown in God. He has me. It's quite beautiful.

At 25, rest was quite foreign to me. I could not fathom rest and truly could not rest my weary, busy mind. At 35, admittedly I'm still working through this concept. However, I am able now to live in the now. I refuse worry. I struggle with being busy in my mind but God is working this out within me. It's quite beautiful.

Looking back, I see now that in that moment where the Divine Mrs. M prayed for a "quiet sense of strength"...this was not to be an instantaneous request. She was birthing a process within me. One that will never cease...I will always need to grow more. I will always look for deposits from the women before me. There is a peace in knowing that God allows life to unfold as it should...

I'm happy to say that I love the 35 year old me...she's quite sassy and ready to take on the world for God. No apologies for this...He made me this way. But with all the spunk and spontaneity He's given me...the part of my journey I treasure the most is being at "ease with my strength and rest with my power." 

Knowing you are His is the most safe, fluid, beautiful, quiet, peaceful space within which to dwell...I highly recommend it...


There is nothing good in me. There is nothing powerful in me. The strength...the power...it is all HIM...
That's the lesson...


At 25, I looked to myself...to my abilities...I thought I could "make" it happen...it all fell apart...many times...
At 35, I look to Him...for everything...I don't trust myself...I trust Him...I don't "make" anything happen...I sit back and let Him unfold it...THAT is the lesson of strength and power...WE HAVE NONE...HE is our strength and power...

To gain my truest self...I've had to lose...everything. My pride, My ruminations, My control, My money, My sense of time, My attitude, My haughtiness...and I gained...

Well, I gained my life. The life I'm meant to live.

So...there is no shame or pride for me to say I possess a "ease with my strength and rest with my power"...

It's a true statement. A testament to the God I love so very much. Should I turn back to myself...I'd lose it instantaneously. HE is my strength and power. I assert that, I live that, I believe that.

Knowing that statement...I can walk in the quite strength and power I tried to force for a decade. I can...walk in Him.

The old song comes to mind, "What a fellowship...What a joy divine...Leaning on the everlasting arms...What a blessedness...What a peace is mine...Leaning on the everlasting arms."

I think the author Elisha Hoffman probably knew about quiet strength and power when she penned this hymn...

Leaning on the everlasting is where the power and strength forever lie...

Grace n Peace,

A ~