When Do I Seek Strength?

THURSDAY, FIFTH WEEK OF LENT

When Do I Seek Strength?

Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually. —Psalm 105:4

Theoretically, I want to follow this entreaty all the time. Realistically, I find that more often than not, I make time to seek the Lord’s presence when things are difficult. When I beg for God’s help, I promise that I will keep praying just as much when things get easier. It reminds me of when I had a debilitating back injury, and I promised God that I would do core exercises every day for the rest of my life if I recovered. Guess what? I do not do them every day.

Why am I wired like this? I suppose it has something to do with the trap of thinking that I operate under my own strength and that my strength is sufficient. It is humbling to admit when I need help, and I do not like feeling “weak.” But the truth is that when I continually seek God’s presence, whether my days are hard or easy, I benefit from God’s strength, my family benefits from me having God’s strength, and my friends, neighbours, and the wider community benefit from me having God’s strength. Why shouldn’t I want that?

FOR REFLECTION:

How can you make a more conscious effort to “seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually”?