95. Strength Through Dependency

What if true strength isn't found in becoming more self-sufficient, but in becoming more dependent on God?

In this episode of the Fully Dependent Summer Series, Amanda and Corrine explore the paradox at the heart of the Christian life: God's strength is most clearly displayed through our weakness. In a culture that celebrates independence, self-reliance, and having it all together, Scripture invites believers into a different way of living, one marked by complete dependence on the Lord.

Through biblical examples, personal stories, and practical encouragement, Amanda and Corrine discuss how recognizing our limitations can become an opportunity to experience God's power in deeper ways. They examine what it means to bring our weaknesses, fears, and struggles before God and trust Him to provide the strength we need for each day.

Whether you're facing a difficult season, feeling overwhelmed by ministry responsibilities, or simply running low on strength, this conversation will remind you that God does not ask you to be strong enough on your own. Instead, He invites you to rely on Him.

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Transcript

Summer Series Setup On Strength

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Welcome back to His Glory Her Good, a podcast for women in pseudo ministry. We are your hosts. I'm Amanda. And I'm Corinne. And we are back for week three of our mini summer series called A Fully Dependent Summer. And we are happy to be here and talking a little bit about strength today. Woo-hoo. Corinne, you want to lead us off in the word and where we're where we're heading?

SPEAKER_00 0:25

Yep. Excited to dive in. Um, yeah, we're the goal, I think, is not to end with being like, hey, girl, you're awesome. You got this. And I think we know this. And I think that's actually intentional about all four of these weeks of this summer series, is I don't doubt that all of us know this truth. We've we've taught it and that we need to be fully dependent on these things, that we are not strong in these things. But I really want to unpack even like personally, like our own wrestlings with why this is hard and why we believe, like, you know, when we're weak, then Christ is strong. And that sounds really encouraging for everyone else. But then to actually wrestle with, oh, that means I have to be seen as weak. No, thanks. Um, but also I think that if you're like us, you're going into a summer, you're in the middle of summer, and even if you're listening to this at a random time, we have this desire to see God do the things that we could never have even fully imagined, the things that might be humanly impossible. We want to be a part of that. We want to see God's power, his strength on display. But so much of that is gonna come down to though, like the posture of our hearts and I think the health of our prayer life. And so I think starting first with I'm

Moses Asks Who Am I

SPEAKER_00 1:49

gonna give you a passage to like read for yourself for time's sake. Um, but in our church, as we've been reading through the Old Testament, going back to when God first gives Moses the name of God, the personal name of I Am is one that's been sitting with me for a long time. And uh thinking back to like the burning bush, that is an incredible moment. But then Moses is really wrestling with okay, God has just told me this is my like rescue plan for my people. I have heard them. What good news? Like we serve a God who hears us, who sees us in our suffering and actually like rescues us and is with us. But then he's like, Moses, you're the game plan, like you're gonna go. He's like, I have some questions. Yeah. And it's so interesting because you can see all throughout Exodus Moses wrestling with God. But in this specific thing, I love that Moses says, like, who am I that I should go? It's my favorite. And God's like, No, no, no, no, no, Moses, you don't get it. Who am I? And redirecting the attention to himself as well.

SPEAKER_01 2:53

Yeah, he wasn't like, Moses, you're a great communicator, you got it going on, you're faithful, done nothing wrong.

SPEAKER_00 2:59

So to our students, I literally a couple a couple weeks ago, it's like, hear me say, like, we are made in the image of God. You are special and loved, but you don't matter in the grand scheme of things in the sense of you're not God. Yeah. And sometimes we look at how we're gonna handle things or our capacity because we're looking at who are we? And sometimes the who am I, we kind of feel proud of it. We can list off some good accomplishments or things we bring to the table, or we can kind of cower in the fear of like, oh my gosh, how am I gonna get this done? And I think those reveal like our eyes being on the wrong person as our source of strength. And so I think wanting to start there of when we really unpack what was God saying when he says I am, and even though that's kind of debated, but like literally the Hebrew word to be, to be, that God is just declaring like I am. And when we really unpack that, God is eternal, he's unchanging. And I think remembering though, that the God who goes with us, like who is this God? And I love that what I am is really communicating to Moses and to us, is the promise of God that I will always be who I have always been. And then flip that statement. I have always been what I will always be. And so taking some of that through our framework, not just to teach other students, but to live out ourselves of, okay, if he has been strong and powerful throughout

God’s Name I Am

SPEAKER_00 4:32

his word, in my own life, in the lives of people around me, then I can trust him to be strong and powerful in this exact moment of weakness and forevermore. If he has been faithful in the Bible, in my life, in someone else's life, then I can trust him to be faithful right now and forevermore. And we keep doing that work of remembering that that's where we draw our strength from and knowing those characteristics that need to be in those blanks of he has always been blank. So he will always be blank. But that also means he's that right now. And I think starting there from we say, like, our God is awesome and strong and powerful. And those are all true statements. But I really want us to think about how we're functioning in that. Are we really remembering that it is all in the Lord's strength? Or are there any pieces of us that think I'm just gonna sprinkle on a little extra effort or a little bit of my personal strength? But how can we cry out to God of I if your power doesn't fall, if your strength doesn't lead me, like nothing happens, nothing good. And so that's kind of what I want us, we're gonna kind of jump around a lot of scripture today, because I think the hope would be I'll just give you the homework now, we'll remind you, but to actually think back in your life and to recall and remember moments where you saw the Lord's strength and power at work and not only just remember as reflection, but now using that to build your faith, to humble you, to cry out to God and to operate in his strength moving forward for the rest of this season

Apart From Me You Can Do Nothing

SPEAKER_00 6:17

and our lives. So just some reminders. We uh know from Romans or excuse me, we know from John 15 when he's talking about that he's the true vine. And he says, Apart from me, you can do nothing, nothing. And I think some of us were like, yeah, but like I can do some things, right? Like I I've done a lot without acknowledging God, without being aware. But the humility of like, no, like actually nothing good that you've ever done comes apart from and I think that's the key word.

SPEAKER_01 6:49

Yes, you can do a lot of things. I mean, the world apart from Jesus can do a lot, be busy, right?

SPEAKER_00 6:56

But if you want to do anything meaningful, anything lasting, holy, anything honoring to the Lord, yeah, like any goodness in you only is grace from God, only is power of the Holy Spirit. And so then that makes me think back to if we go to 2 Corinthians 12, this is scripture. I feel like, I mean, for my like very perfectionistic trying to be capable, prove myself as capable, yeah. Um, has had the scripture prayed over me for most of my life. And I'm like, thanks, mom. And also now, like I really need this. Yeah. But when Paul is really wrestling with some things and begging the Lord to like rescue him from whatever he's suffering with, and the Lord essentially says, no, it's not because the Lord's not being loving. I love, if you were to read

Power Perfected In Weakness

SPEAKER_00 7:45

the message paraphrase of this wrestling, I think it's just a really cool rewording to say that Paul goes on this journey with the Lord, and in the Lord saying no, he now views like this handicap as a gift from God and his weakness as something that maybe the enemy wanted to use to bring him down, but actually brought him to his knees and like closer to the Lord. But then from like CSB, when he's saying, I pleaded with the Lord, and then God says, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness. And then when it goes on, therefore, this is Paul's resolve, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may reside in me. Which means verse 10. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. And we probably have that on a t-shirt. We believe that we're like, that sounds so nice. But like when we actually think about the implications, this is a pretty costly resolve in that we live in a world that does not celebrate weakness. We are impressed by the we do anything to avoid it at all costs. Yeah. And I'll be honest, there are times that you disappoint people when you are weak from just a we love the gold star, the gold medal, the winner. We look up to those people. And I think just this reminder of the Lord equips us. I'm not like he equips us to do things for his glory. But I think the weakness part really comes from, but if God's power doesn't reside in me, nothing good, lasting, meaningful actually happens. And I'm okay if people aren't impressed with me. Like I'm willing to give that up if that means I get the power of God at work in my life and in the lives around me. But again, we say that. And I think that's kind of where as we uh keep going for you, Amanda, with this weakness capability. I think sometimes we like to talk about the weaknesses we want to talk about or like manage it. But talk to me about like what has it looked like in your life to actually be like, yes, Christ's power is perfected in weakness, but that means I have to be like fully seen as weak. I have to be from a place of I'm gonna boast in the fact that I bring nothing to the table so that Christ's power can rest in me. Where in your life have you fought against that and maybe seen the Lord like

Amanda’s Fight To Feel Capable

SPEAKER_00 10:33

redeem it? So many places.

SPEAKER_01 10:36

Um honestly, I would say uh just like a vulnerable, I would part, is a lot of what I do at Lifeway. Um, I never like sought out to like write a book. Um, Morgan is our um producer editor in here, and she knows like there's not a lot that I've actually willingly volunteered for. Um, and more of it just being like the person who was just so happened to be in the room at the right time. And um, so I don't deem myself as a writer. I don't think that it comes naturally to me. I honestly don't think teaching comes naturally to me either. Um, it's something that I have to like work on um and spend a lot of thought on and desperately ask the Lord. Um and I wish that I could just like show up and be like, I am the best Bible teacher. Like, I like want to present myself in that way. And um, there's so many people around me who do it really well. Um, there's, I mean, I work with all the authors here and I'm like, I want to be a Christian McCullen, I want to be a Kelly mentor. Like, I want to have that ability just to open God's word and to shut it down. And that's just not who I am. And so for me, in the role that I am at, like so much of me wants to be that awesome person. And I'm just not. So instead of presenting myself like that, um, I just try to be real. Like, you know what? If I'm really good at hosting a podcast over being a Bible teacher on a platform, then so be it. And um, and knowing that the things that I say, if there is anything good that comes from it, if I ever write a book that's worth any kind of, you know, credit or someone's praise, it can't be me. The girls' ministry book that I wrote, like when I think about the time that I wrote it of like freshly postpartum and like there's nothing good that should have come from that. And the Lord yet still has used it and made his power strong in my life. And to me, that reminder of like always having to go back to like if if I I needed God then and I need him again now. Like that's the only thing that I want. I'm gonna stay in this lane. And if the Lord wants me to use me and my weakness, then so be it.

SPEAKER_00 12:46

Yeah. And I think that's so good because here's kind of the goal. And I'll a reminder that we want to model well for the people around us, and especially teen girls. To boast in our weakness is not to self-deprecate or to diminish the value that God has placed on our lives, that we are his daughters,

Boasting Without Self Deprecation

SPEAKER_00 13:06

made in his image, equipped for every good work that he calls us to. So the goal is not to be like, I'm the worst. Like that's that's actually a different kind of pride we don't have time to unpack. The goal of this boasting in our weakness is going back to that Exodus three moment of who am I that I should write a book? And it's like, no, because I don't know. Like, I don't know who I am. I anyone else could maybe write the book. Literally anybody could be able to do it. But who is the God that called me to do it? And what a gift to partner with him in that and to know that he's going to equip me, yes, and he loves me. And even what I produce, even if it's found to be helpful, does not add to my significance, but just the humility to say, but if I get to serve the Lord from a place of knowing how much I need him, what a gift! And that's where real power and real strength comes from. And so as we wrap up, I want to give you a few psalms to look at, and they are close together, and I'm gonna go out of order. And if you care about number order, I'm sorry, there's a point. Um, but these are actually some that I've read in the last couple of weeks just from the Bible reading plan I've been going through, but so they're gonna be close together. But in Psalm 73, I would encourage you to read a lot more of this, but I want to get to verse 26. I'll actually read verse 25 too, because when it says, Who do I have in heaven but you? And I desire nothing on earth but you, my flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. And so this is a great one, maybe to memorize of my flesh and heart will fail, but God is my strength, and he is the strength of my heart.

Psalms For Strength And Hope

SPEAKER_00 14:49

Psalm 77. I love so in this Bible I'm reading from the heading for this psalm of ASAF is confidence in a time of crisis. And if you were to read the whole psalm, it's a lot of wrestling, a lot of will the Lord reject forever? Has his faithful love ceased forever? Some pretty like intense questions and wrestlings. But then we see kind of this wrestling to go. I'm grieved, yes, but I will remember the works of the Lord. Yes, I will remember your ancient wonders. Verse 12, I will, I will reflect on all you have done and meditate on your actions. God, your way is holy. What God is great like you? You are the God who works wonders. You revealed your strength among the peoples. And it goes through just like that reminder of our position, that we are held by the God who holds everything together, who commands all of creation, who created everything. And that's the strong God that we're praying to, crying out to, and relying on. And then the last one is I'm gonna jump back on purpose to Psalm 71 and read you verse 14. Um, because this is another like, Lord, I'm crying out for help, but I will hope continually, verse 14, and will praise you more and more. And I think just kind of this idea that another translation I've been reading was, as for me, I will always have hope. Because of the strength of God, because of his power, I will always have hope. And so I'm about to pray for us, but this is the verse from Romans 15, 13 with hope that I'm praying for all of us. That

Romans 15 Prayer And Closing

SPEAKER_00 16:32

Romans 15, 13, this would be the theme. Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe, so that you may overflow with hope by what? The power of the Holy Spirit. So I want to pray exactly this over us now. My God, I thank you specifically for the girl listening right now. Lord, she is loved by you, made by you, equipped by you. But Lord, I just pray um for the release of any weight that is on her shoulders, that is hers to figure out, that she's believing the lie, that she's got to figure things out, be strong enough. But Lord, she would get her eyes off of herself and her own abilities, which are none, and get them onto you. Would you help all of us to look to you, God, and to be reminded, to recall and remember your faithfulness, your strength, and your power in both your word and in our past. And may that build our faith. God, we want to be people who are filled with your joy and peace so that we can overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. So, Lord, we need you and we know that, but help us to live today like we need your power and need your strength for every single good thing we get to be a part of. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 17:58

His Glory Her Good is production of the LifeWay Podcast Network.

SPEAKER_00 18:01

We're your hosts, Corinne Allen and Amanda Mahias. We are so grateful that you joined us, and we'll see you next time.