Where the Strength Comes From

“…being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience…”
Colossians 1:11 (NIV)

Much of what matters in life continues to need our attention. A person still needs our patience after we have already given attention to several other things. A decision may deserve care when our mind would rather turn to something else. Work we agreed to do can continue even when we have less energy than when we started. Sometimes, in the middle of an ordinary moment, we realize that our available strength has changed, yet we still want to respond to the person with patience, make the decision carefully, or give the work the attention it deserves.

As those responsibilities continue, a quieter expectation can appear. If the work is mine, the decision is mine, or someone is depending on me, shouldn’t I also have enough strength to continue? Paul, an early Christian leader writing to people in Colossae, prayed that those already seeking to live faithfully would be “strengthened with all power according to his glorious might” (Colossians 1:11). Why pray for strength if faithful people were expected to supply all of it themselves? Their responsibility remains, but the prayer opens the possibility that the strength does not have to come from them alone.

Paul continues, asking that they be strengthened “so that you may have great endurance and patience” (Colossians 1:11). Endurance can look like returning to the responsibility when it is still there tomorrow. Patience reaches further into how we continue addressing what the responsibility requires. Even when the responsibility requires more of us than we expected, we may still discover renewed capacity and room to listen carefully, answer with kindness, or give the person in front of us the attention they need.

Paul also prays that they would keep “growing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10). An older prayer says, “I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done” (Psalm 143:5). A difficult responsibility did not disappear, but we found enough strength for that day. Another difficult period did not unfold as we expected, yet we received help in a way we could not have planned. Later, when another responsibility requires more of us than we feel ready to give, we may remember those earlier days. Could the God who sustained us then also be supplying what we need for this responsibility now?

Paul’s prayer ends with people “giving joyful thanks to the Father” (Colossians 1:12). The next morning, the same responsibility may still be there, and we may not yet know how much patience, clarity, or endurance the day will require. Perhaps we do not have to begin by measuring how much strength we have left. Could gratitude begin before anything becomes easier, because we are no longer beginning the day as though our own strength is all that will be available?

Prayer

Father, when my strength feels limited, help me receive what You provide without mistaking dependence for failure. Keep me patient, faithful, and attentive to Your goodness in the responsibilities before me today. Amen.