Edition 55
Strength
Last Edition Recap
How have you applied the last edition to your life?
Opening Prayer
All-powerful Father, we struggle unnecessarily when we can draw strength from you—teach us how. Amen.
Introduction
True strength? It’s the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces and eat just one.
Society has created an exhausting culture where everyone must appear “okay” and sorted. Social media amplifies this—we see carefully curated “perfect lives” whilst depression, addiction, anxiety, loneliness, and struggle remain hidden behind filters. We wear the “I’ve got it all together” mask because showing cracks feels like weakness.
Yet Ernest Hemingway observed: “The world breaks everyone, and afterwards, some are strong at the broken places.” The question isn’t whether we’re broken—it’s where we find the strength to be strong at those very fractures.
Chat Point 1
When you think of strength, what images or examples come to mind?
What are the different types of strength—physical, emotional, spiritual, relational—and which matters most to you?
How often do you wear the “I’ve got it all together” mask, and why do you feel compelled to do so?
Have you ever relied on someone else to be strong for you when you couldn’t be, and what impact did that have?
Is it possible for one person to be strong all the time, and what happens when we try?
Read
2 Corinthians 12:9-10, 1 Chronicles 29:10-12
Key Focus
Ephesians 5:18 – “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.”
Chat Point 2
What stood out for you in these passages?
What do you think Paul means when he says, “When I am weak, then I am strong”?
Read Jeremiah 16:19—where do we typically look for strength other than God, and why do we seek to be strengthened by those things instead?
Have you personally experienced God’s strength in your time of weakness, and how did it manifest?
According to Ephesians 5:18, how does God strengthen us, and what practical ways can you learn about and be strengthened by God?
Final Thought
Paul’s paradox in 2 Corinthians haunts our performance-driven culture: “When I am weak, then I am strong.” This contradicts everything society teaches about self-sufficiency and having it sorted.
We look for strength everywhere except the right place—achievements, substances, relationships, social validation. Ephesians 5:18 presents the contrast starkly: don’t get drunk on wine (seeking artificial strength), but be filled with the Spirit (receiving divine strength).
Hemingway was right—the world breaks everyone. But some become strong at the broken places. Not because they’re naturally resilient or pulled themselves up by bootstraps, but because they stopped pretending and let God be their strength at the exact points of fracture.
God doesn’t want you strong all the time on your own. He wants to be your strength in everything. The question is: what in you resists him?
My Action
What key insight or learning from this session resonates most with me, and what do I sense God is inviting me to do in response?
Shared Prayer
What are your prayer requests?
Closing Prayer
Almighty God, you strengthen your servants—strengthen us when we turn to you in all we do. Amen.
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In-Between Chats: Personal Reflection
If God wants to be your strength in everything, what specifically in you resists him—pride, fear, control, disbelief?
What are some practical ways you can learn about and be strengthened by God this week rather than seeking strength from inadequate sources?
Where in your life are you currently wearing the “I’ve got it all together” mask, and what would it look like to be honest about your weakness instead?
Edition Writer: Rev Kevin Zondagh
Methodist Minister, Personal Development Specialist, Life Coach, Relationship Coach and Executive Coach. Founder and Owner of Exemplar Coaching Pty Ltd and CoffeeChatConnect. "We should have the desire to custom design the only life we have. After-all, we buy designer everything. How much more should we Live by Design, not by default?"