Have you ever looked at someone else's strength and thought, “I wish I had that”?
Maybe you’ve admired the woman who radiates peace no matter what’s going on around her. Or the man who prays with a quiet, steady confidence, even when things aren’t going his way. Or that friend who seems unshakeable, even though you know their life hasn’t been easy behind closed doors.
We all want that unshakable and unwavering strength because we see it as a desirable characteristic; few of us want to walk the road that actually builds it, though.
Strength Is Grown in the Climb
Struggle isn’t something we sign up for. In fact, most of us spend our lives trying to avoid it. But what if struggle is precisely what God is using to build what you’ve been praying for?
You see, often God has a different way of answering our prayers than we might envision or expect.
For example, we pray for strength, so He allows us to encounter resistance.
We pray for peace, so He teaches us to find it in the midst of the storm.
We ask for deeper faith, so He removes the “safe” things we tend to lean on.
When these types of things occur, it can feel like everything is falling apart, but maybe it’s really falling into place.
Scripture, as seen in James 1:2-3, even suggests that we can be happy about these challenging seasons of life because of what they produce. “Consider it pure joy, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”
Breaking Isn’t the End—It’s the Beginning
There are times when we can feel like we’ve hit a wall, and like nothing is working. Like our prayers are hitting the ceiling.
In these times, we wonder, “Where is God?”
Let me assure you, He’s not absent in your struggle- He’s active in it.
He sees your silent tears. He hears your exhausted sighs. He knows the ache in your heart behind your prayers.
And He’s not trying to break you. He’s working for your good to build you stronger and better.
We naturally don’t like weakness, but it is not the enemy. In God’s hands, weakness can be the beginning of something powerful and new. 2 Corinthians 12:9 reinforces this by saying, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." This means God uses our weakest moments to release His power within us. How amazing is that!?
A God Who Stills Storms—and Strengthens Souls
There’s a beautiful moment in the Gospels when Jesus calms the storm for His disciples, but before he does, He asks, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40)
Sometimes He calms the storm around you.
Sometimes He calms the storm within you.
Either way, He’s forming a faith that won’t be tossed so easily by the winds and waves of life.
You’re not drowning. You’re being shaped and molded into a stronger version of yourself by the difficulty.
Your Struggle Is Not Wasted
If you’re walking through something painful right now, and your heart is heavy, your prayers feel weak, or your strength seems gone, please hear and believe this:
You are not failing. You are not forgotten.
You are being forged, refined, renewed, and remade.
I think true strength doesn’t always look like how we naturally imagine it. It’s not necessarily “owning a room” or carrying yourself with complete confidence. I’d like to suggest true, deep strength is more private and unseen.
Sometimes it’s whispering, “I still believe”, through tears. It’s getting out of bed when we’d rather pull the covers up over our heads. It’s opening our bible and reading God’s wisdom when it would be easier to play the victim or feel sorry for ourselves. It’s believing God can do something good in situations that are not. It’s taking a step forward, no matter how small.
This is silent strength that matters and that is real. This takes root in us and over time forms us into someone who can not easily be shaken because we are so anchored and rooted in what we believe.
None of us desires hardship, and none of us welcomes pain, yet both are inevitable parts of life. The real question is not whether we will face struggle, but how we will respond when we do. Will we allow it to break us down, or will we choose to let it build us up?
When God is in the midst of our trials, everything changes. Struggle becomes sacred. Pain becomes purposeful. With Him, we are transformed into the very person we've long admired… the one who carries quiet strength and walks in unshakable peace. Why? Because we no longer fear adversity. We understand where it leads.
It leads to becoming the version of ourselves we were always meant to be.
