Strength to Let Go

<p>Once known as the World&rsquo;s Strongest Man, American weightlifter Paul Anderson set a world record in the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, despite a severe inner-ear infection and a 103-degree fever. Falling behind frontrunners, his only chance for a gold medal was to set a new Olympic record in his last event. His first two attempts failed badly.</p> <p>So the burly athlete did what even the weakest among us can do. He called on God for extra strength, letting go of his own. As he later said, &ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t making a bargain. I needed help.&rdquo; With his final lift, he hoisted 413.5 pounds (187.5 kg) over his head.</p> <p>Another Paul, the apostle of Christ, wrote, &ldquo;When I am weak, then I am strong&rdquo; (2 Corinthians 12:10). Paul was speaking of spiritual strength, but he knew that God&rsquo;s power was &ldquo;made perfect in weakness&rdquo; (v. 9).</p> <p>As the prophet Isaiah declared, &ldquo;[The&nbsp;<smallcaps>Lord</smallcaps>] gives strength&nbsp;to the weary and increases the power of the weak&rdquo; (Isaiah 40:29).</p> <p>The path to such strength? Abiding in Jesus. &ldquo;Apart from me you can do nothing,&rdquo; He said (John 15:5). As weightlifter Anderson often said, &ldquo;If the strongest man in the world can&rsquo;t get through one day without the power of Jesus Christ&mdash;where does that leave you?&rdquo; To find out, we can release our dependence on our own illusive strength, asking God for His strong and prevailing help.</p>