'Don't be afraid, for I am with you'

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

-Isaiah 41:10

Fear, discouragement, weakness - we've all had those feelings.

If you've followed the last couple of postings (click here for the first one, here for the second), you'll know that I'm recovering from eye surgery, with the likelihood that I'm going to have one or two more procedures on my left eye.

As mentioned before, the vision in that eye is blurry. Slowly improving, but blurry. That makes it a little slow to write blog postings (please excuse any typos), emails and other computer tasks. So I need words - like those from Isaiah - to bring encouragement and hope.

And I hope these words help in your own struggles.

'Therefore we will not fear ...'

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

-Psalm 46:1-3

I recently became aware of a friend who is in a real struggle right now - betrayed and abused.

Now think - anyone in your life who currently faces trouble or fear? Yourself?

I know many stroke survivors face trouble on a daily basis. I've been there - feeling vulnerable and weak. Some feel it physically. Others struggle with speech problems, memory, vision and more.

Vulnerable? God is your refuge, a safe place in a storm. Weak (physically, mentally or, most important, spiritually)? God is your strength.

Reach out to God. He is with you, through those times of trouble. If you struggle how, reach out to friends of faith until you find ways to relate to God.

'Be strong and take heart'

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

-Psalm 27:14

Impatience - the story of my life.

I'm better than I used to be but still struggle with impatience. I avoid some things because of it - golf, for example. As an amateur woodworker, I use my hobby as a tool to teach myself patience. It's working, but slowly.

Impatience is a special challenge for many stroke survivors. I know it was (and is) mine. Struggling to read. Struggling for proper speech. Struggling to write clearly.

The best way I've found to conquer impatience is to read verses like this selection from Psalm. Timing is not always ours - often, timing is in God's time.

So think about that when you struggle with impatience. Use this time to build your inner strength - take heart and wait for the Lord.

'Those who wait upon God ...'

Photo by Frank Kovalchek via Flickr

For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, they run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind.

-Isaiah 40:30-31 (The Message)

A couple of postings ago, I complained about nagging back pain. And even though I'm not so young these days, I understand how, as Isaiah says, young people can get tired, drop out, stumble and fall.

Ever feel that way?

As this is being written, I'm waiting for word that my health insurance will cover a shot in the back that, I hope, will help. Complaints about employee-based health insurance delays - thus reducing their own employees' productivity - could take up an entire posting and then some.

But today, it's about waiting. It seems we live in a hurry-up world today. If there's nothing I can do but wait, I need to wait. Not necessarily on human timetables, but on God's timetable. Follow God's timetable will give me fresh strength, as Isaiah told so eloquently so long ago.

Now, will I always get exactly what I want by waiting? Not necessarily. But God's strength comes in many ways, many sizes, many shapes. I must refresh my trust in that.

Young stroke survivor finds strength in determination

Photo from the U.S.
Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention

Are we all destined to run after a stroke? No. BUT, I still like stories like this because they do illustrate that after a stroke, determination is often key.

If you've visited this blog before, you'll know that was a runner before my stroke in 1998, started running again several weeks later, and continue to run. People, though, have different outcomes - physical, speech, vision, etc. - and not everyone can run. In fact, as the last post noted, stroke is the most common cause of permanent disability in the United States.

But the story is more than running. It's about a stroke survivor who found strength, a story that can echo in other lives. People might have different levels of abilities and strengths, different disabilities, different challenges. The important thing is to keep those challenges challenged.

So, here's a link, an excerpt and a video about a young stroke survivor finds strength in running:

'My strength and my defense'

    I will trust and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense;
    he has become my salvation.

-Isaiah 12:2

Truth be told, I was afraid on May 8, 1998.

But even on that day, God was my strength and my defense. And because of that, I trust God more. Will I ever be afraid again? That's an unanswerable question. I would like to say no - and as I continue building up my faith, I hope to one day give that answer honestly: No.

Everyone has - or will have - a day with threat, a day that could be filled with fear. Here's to all our faith journeys continuing to reach higher and higher levels of trust in God so that fear - like death - can be conquered.

'I will never be shaken'

Truly my soul finds rest in God;
    my salvation comes from him.
Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
    he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

-Psalm 62:1-2

The older I get, the more I enjoy the book of Psalms.

The verses above hits home: Haven't you needed rest? Support? Have you ever felt events started to shake - figuratively or literally - around you?

We've all experienced these things. You or someone you love might have had a stroke. Perhaps still struggling through recovery, with physical disability, speech difficulty, or both.

God's got your back. While the world seems to shake around you, God provides the support you need to stand firm - figuratively or literally. These verses don't say that troubles will stay away. But you know God will be your rock and fortress.

'Who gives me strength'

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

-Philippians 4:11-13

Ever felt weak? I certainly have.

Does anyone like that? Certainly not.

Paul had his own hardships - beaten up, locked up, etc. In his letter to the Philippians, he tells of his remarkable ability to handle all those situations.

Now, note that Paul didn't just stop when he found a way to be content with his circumstances. No, he kept going in his mission that still resonates today. But he did find that God's strength is the world's greatest coping tool for those in stress.

Stressed out? Weak? Use the same coping tool that brought Paul through his worst days.

'Nothing is too hard for you!'

Lord God, you created heaven and earth by your great power and outstretched arm; nothing is too hard for you!

-Jeremiah 32:17

Life is difficult! I'm guessing we all know that.

Between health concerns, work, duties at home and more, we're often challenged on a daily basis. Jeremiah, too, was challenged - he was on a mission for God, which didn't set well with many of those in charge in his day.

But Jeremiah's words still echo today, for which I'm grateful. He reminds us that yes, life is hard, but for God, nothing is hard. When my own strength wanes, God's never does.

600 blog postings - and, God willing, more to come

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

-Psalm 46:1

This is the 600th blog posting for Stroke of Faith, which began eight years ago this coming Saturday. Click here for the first posting.

For several years, the blog was updated only sporadically. Then, in 2008, I decided to either abandon the blog or update more often. So, since then, it's been updated generally two or three times a week.

I also recently re-read the verse in Psalm 46, and I think it makes a statement about one of the reasons for this blog:. When I needed help, God was my refuge. When I had no strength, God was my strength. And even to this day, when trouble invades, God is my ever-present help.

'The Lord gives strength to his people'

The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.

-Psalm 29:11

Strength and peace.

In human history, those two terms have been at odds at times - you could easily cite examples of those in power with strength who have been anything but peaceful.

But we're not talking about human examples. Strength from God - that inner strength - is the perfect complement to God's inner peace.

So many times, I've needed strength and peace. It's difficult - and I'd say impossible in the final analysis - to find those things in the quality of God's strength and peace.

How does he provide this? Note the words - God "gives" strength; he "blesses" people with peace. We don't purchase or earn these things. God freely gives them. To you. To all.

'Our salvation in time of distress'

Lord, be gracious to us;
    we long for you.
Be our strength every morning,
    our salvation in time of distress.

-Isaiah 33:2

We've all had distress, stroke-related or not.

Last week, I marked my 15th "anniversary" of my stroke, and remarked how God gave me strength in my recovery.

That strength is available to you, every day, especially in time of distress, as the above quote from Isaiah notes.

These days, I exercise most mornings. When I run this morning, I will thank God for the strength of that morning. No matter your schedule, even when your "morning" is everybody else's afternoon, you, too can reach out for that strength and salvation.

(Photo from NASA; text added by author)

'Be our strength every morning'

Lord, be gracious to us;
    we long for you.
Be our strength every morning,
    our salvation in time of distress.

-Isaiah 33:2

Somewhere along the way, I became a morning person. Most days when I run, I wake up before dawn, quietly prepare, and run. Not fast, to be certain, but run.

Because of this, I've seen lot of sunrises. Yet I'm never tired of them. A new day, new strength, new hope - all because of God's grace and love.

We often equate night - darkness - with times of distress. Yet God is waiting for us with a sunrise. We long for God, as the verse in Isaiah says. But in his time, morning is coming, with salvation, despite all the distress we face.

(Photo from National Center for Atmospheric Research)

'Run and not grow weary'

[B]ut those who hope in the LORD
   will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
   they will run and not grow weary,
   they will walk and not be faint.

-Isaiah 40:31

You've seen these words before in this blog. But I can't resist for a repeater for this one.

Not long ago, due to months of recovering from a non-stroke-related back injury, I ran slowly and, sometimes, with a little pain.

Just last month, I finished the first half-marathon (13.1 miles) that I've run in more than a year.

So to celebrate the real reason why I accomplished this, why not repeat these words? God did renew my strength. I did complete - albeit slowly - and was able to enjoy the rest of the day with family. Not weary. Not faint.

Thanks be to God. Place your hope in God.

'So do not fear, for I am with you'

So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

-Isaiah 41:10

People with aphasia - a common outcome for stroke survivors that affects speech - feel isolated and therefore isolate themselves from others, according to a survey conducted in 2004 by the National Aphasia Association.

But nothing - no matter what in this life - can truly isolate one from God. The author in Isaiah said it far better than I can: you don't have to fear, you need not be dismayed. God is with you.

I certainly understand - to a degree - the feeling of aphasia, which afflicted me during my own stroke in 1998. For a while, I could not speak, write or read. I had trouble understanding what others were saying. Talk about feeling isolated.

But God never left me. In those days when my I needed strength, God was present. And God can be present for you.

'God is the strength of my heart'

Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

-Psalm 73:25-26

We see examples of the failure of flesh and heart every day. But as this Psalm reminds us, when it's all said and done, when all seems lost and strength wanes:  God is the source of strength.

We all have known people who have had moments of hopelessness. Often, stroke survivors struggle to find hope. I certainly had my days where failure was a threat.

Remember, though, where your portion of strength comes - not just a minute, an hour, a day, but forever.

(Image from heartlight.org)

'My God is my rock'

I love you, LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

-Psalm 18:1-2

A refuge. A fortress. A shield. A stronghold.

Haven't we all needed these things at least one time of our lives? When we struggle in stroke recovery, we need that rock, that deliverer. For all of us, God is all these things and more.

This Psalm is a good reminder that no matter what life throws at you, God is your strength. Always.

Never get tired of Isaiah 40:31

[B]ut those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

-Isaiah 40:31

These words in Isaiah can be powerful reminders that with God, your strength is not just your own, your source of strength is beyond your own. God renews that strength.

I run, and I can tell you, this human body does grow weary. But Isaiah isn't talking about the mere human condition, the human body. He is not talking about strength that can be counted by the pound. No - he's talking about strength in faith. It's about strength in faith that will carry stroke survivors and caregivers and yes, they will soar on wings like eagles.

A refreshing find...

On a lark the other day, I did a Google search on these terms (without quotes): "prayers for stroke patients."

Among other hits, a Prayer for Strength After a Stroke:

...Grant them strength and hope
to envision new days ahead...

(Image from eHow.com)

That one little word: in

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

-Ephesians 6:10-11

As Palm Sunday approaches, an important word to remember: "in."

That small word - "...be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ..." - packs some punch. Those two little words remind us that true strength is found in God.

Stroke recovery can be lonely and difficult. But remember, you are in God's strength and in his power. Rest in his love and strength.