Oswald Chamber says “God does not give us overcoming life; he gives us life as we overcome. The strain is the strength” (Chambers, 1935). This is a profound, if painful truth. I see leaders everywhere, straining as they work toward their “breakthrough”. Some constantly feel as if they are on the edge of this “breakthrough”. In actuality, we remain on the edge for most of our lives. It is true that we have moments of victory, but they are embedded into the context of a larger struggle. We must get used to, and we must adjust our soul to the concept of living in the strain (I did not speak of living as surviving, but living as thriving). And while we expect, even demand, progress, we must come to know that progress does not take us out of the strain. We know we are doing well, not because our struggles stop, but because we have exchanged one level for another.
*Chambers, Oswald. (1935). My Utmost for his highest. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company.
