How to take a stand when you feel too weak

Have you come to the point where you know you must stand up? Have you gotten to the point where you are just fed up with being hurt by someone in a relationship time after time? Have you finally arrived at D-day? (Decision day?) But perhaps despite that you feel too weak to go through with doing something about it...

I want to bring your attention John 11,to the story in the Bible about Lazarus being raised from the dead. When Jesus arrived on the scene, Lazarus had been dead three days. But Jesus was there bringing hope and telling them He would heal him. He wanted the people to know that they should believe in His power. He told them in verse 4, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it."

Listen to this whole account in John 11:38-44

38Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39"Take away the stone," he said. "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." 40Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" 41So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me." 43When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 44The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."

Realize, God had the power to complete this healing all this by himself. He could raise Lazarus from the dead, and easily could have rolled away the stone without even touching it. He could have also "zapped" the clothes of of Lazarus if He wanted to, and just made them disappear in a blink of an eye instead of asking his friends to help unwrap him.

If God could do all this himself, why did he ask these friends to do anything?

I believe this simple story shows us that God uses other people to help us in our healing process.

There are times you will not be strong enough to take a stand on your own. You will need a friend to help you.

In life coaching the other day, the woman who is being mistreated by a family member is ready to take a stand. She is tired of the verbal barbs that have been pelting her every time she is with her family member, on the phone, or at a holiday gathering. She's ready to finally value herself enough take a stand. But she said, "I don't know if I'm strong enough..." I told her, by herself she may not be, however - she is not alone. She has the Lord of course, but she also has friends in our life coaching group, in addition to her coach (me!) that she can call 24/7. I shared with her that just like I sometimes need friends to talk me out of getting Slurpees, (former addiction) so she needs friends to talk her through making a stand with her family member and sticking to her resolve when she feels too weak.

Just as with Lazarus, God wants to use those in our "front row" to help us through when we're too weak to do it on our own.