Stronger
With the recent release of our new album, I felt impressed to share the story behind the title song: Making Me Stronger. To include every detail of our story would keep you reading for the next few days. So this is a condensed version for the purpose of this devotion.
Oct-2009
We were in North Carolina when we received a phone call from a pastor friend, who lived several states away. He said, “The Lord has been dealing with me for quite some time to call you all. The Lord wants you to know that you are about to face one of darkest storms of your life. But the Lord also wants you to know that when you come through this, you’ll be stronger than you’ve ever been!”
We never imagined that our storm would blow in the very next week. On the following Tuesday, Sis. Rita received a phone call that her father had suffered a stroke. He continued to worsen throughout the week and soon it was apparent that she urgently needed to get back home. Bro. Ritchey’s stroke had completely paralyzed him on his right side and his speech was severely affected.
My mother’s dad, (who like Bro. Ritchey, was also a pastor) came to St. John’s hospital to be a strength to the family. Mom was sitting in the waiting room as my grandparents arrived and received another call from our pastor friend. “Sister Blythe, the Lord wanted me to call again and tell you that your family is about to face another dark storm. But hang on, because when you come through this, you’ll be stronger than you’ve ever been!”
Two hours later, Grandpa collapsed in the hospital floor with a massive seizure. Code blue was announced over the speakers as the hospital staff rushed him to the ER. After a series of tests, the doctors informed our family that Grandpa had terminal brain cancer. My dad also spent a night in the same hospital due to concerns of a heart attack. So imagine the scene…Sis. Rita’s dad, my mother’s dad, and my dad in the same hospital…all at the same time. Sandy was also involved in a car accident shortly thereafter.
If your head is spinning right now, that is exactly how we felt. This seemingly endless cycle of storms had rocked our world. But the one thing we clung to was the word from the Lord: “When you come through this, you will be stronger than you’ve ever been.”
As our storm continued, Sandy and myself discussed the phone call that came before our trial began. Sandy said, “I’m just waiting on the ‘stronger’ that the Lord promised us.” I wholeheartedly agreed with her. But then the Lord began to reveal something to us. The true meaning of becoming stronger.
When someone wants to become physically stronger, what do we find them doing? Lifting weights of course. But what we need to understand is that these weights must become progressively heavier. In the words of a fitness trainer:
To produce muscle growth, you must apply a load of stress that is greater than the amount of weight to which your muscles have previously adapted. To do this, you must progressively lift heavier weights.
When a person first experiences the load of heavier weights, their body begs for relief. But they accept the pain, knowing that it is for their good. The very night of Grandpa’s seizure, he shared that his favorite verse was Romans 8:28. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”
Nine months later, Grandpa passed away. Sis. Rita’s Dad is still a confined to a wheel chair and requires twenty-four hour care.
But God is truly making us stronger! What the devil meant for harm, God has used it for our good. We have discovered reservoirs of strength that we never would have imagined. We have experienced the promise found in 2 Corinthians 12:9 “…My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness…”
Making Me Stronger has quickly become our motto for the storms that we have been through. Some storms are still ongoing and they are known only to us and God. But every day, God is faithful. Friend, if you think that the weight of your trial is going to kill you, get a fresh grip on faith and let this be your song to the Lord:
You’re making me stronger than I’ve ever been. Though I’m walking through the fire, you’re holding to my hand. Though right now it seems I just can’t last much longer. I know you love me, and I know you’re making me stronger.