There are moments when life simply becomes too much.

The diagnosis we didn't expect. The person we cannot help. The relationship we cannot repair. The problem we cannot solve. Or perhaps just lying awake at three in the morning, imagining everything that might go wrong.

Fear whispers, “What if?”

Hopelessness tells us, “There is no way out.”

Powerlessness finally admits, “There is nothing I can do.”

And perhaps that last admission is not always a bad place to be.

We should do what we can. Think. Act. Seek help. Use every ability God has given us. We've tried. We've prayed. We've thought it through. We've asked for help.

And still the problem sits in front of us.

Perhaps that is when the question changes. Instead of asking, “What more can I do?” we begin asking, “Where do I turn when there is nothing more I can do?”

Paul gives us a remarkable answer in his Letter to the Ephesians:

“I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his strength.”
Ephesians 1:17–20 (Christian Standard Bible)

Look at the words Paul gives us:

Wisdom.
Revelation.
Enlightenment.
Hope.
Spiritual Wealth.
Power.
Strength.

Notice what he does not say.

He does not say we suddenly become powerful enough to handle everything ourselves.

He points us instead to “the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe.”

That changes everything.

Instead of giving up because we don't have enough strength, we can look trustingly to the One whose strength is greater than ours.

Fear may still knock at the door. There may still be moments when we cannot see a way forward. And there will certainly be things in life we are powerless to change.

But being unable to change something is not the end of the story.

We can turn to the One whose strength is greater than our own.

Perhaps that is when we discover:

Sometimes it takes reaching the end of our own strength to discover the strength that was there all along.