Strength For All Your Days

About Asher [Moses] said:

“Most blessed of sons is Asher; let him be favored by his brothers; and let him bathe his feet in [olive] oil. The bolts of your gates will be iron and bronze, and your strength will equal your days.”

Deuteronomy 33:24-25 (NIV)

For weeks my friend Glenna had been feeling exhausted. “I’m so tired,” she said. “I’m seventy-six and have no energy. I don’t know how I’m going to keep up the yard work and household duties all alone. Will I have enough strength in days and months ahead?”

One morning, feeling as tired as ever, Glenna opened her Bible, and the reading for that day was in Deuteronomy 33. As she read Moses’ blessing on the tribe of Asher, she felt as if God had spoken his promise into her spirit and said, “Glenna, your strength will equal your days. Praise me as your strength instead of focusing on your lack of energy or recounting the tasks to be done.”

Glenna knelt and began to worship the Lord for his great promise, assured that he would support and sustain her. As she prayed, renewal began in both her spiritual and physical being; she felt a vigor she hadn’t experienced in a long time. She realized she didn’t have to worry about the possibility of being more exhausted in a year. God’s strength would match the length of her days then, too.

It’s easy to be downhearted when we wake up exhausted or don’t feel up to the demands of life—household work, jobs, and caregiving. And when we’re worn out because of ill health, old age, or crushing burdens, it’s hard to keep going. But throughout the Scriptures is the theme that the Lord can renew our strength. When Glenna shared this promise with me, I was encouraged. Now I pass it on to you, believing that this blessing is not only for the tribe of Asher, but for all of us who are in Christ.

Lord, when we don’t know how we will go on, you have an answer. Thank you, Father, that all your promises are yes and amen in Christ. Thank you for supporting us and providing strength for our days.

The weaker we feel, the harder we lean on God. And the harder we lean, the stronger we grow.

Joni Eareckson Tada(1949–), American author, artist, and advocate for the disabled