Finding Strength in Vulnerability: Sarah's Journey from Despair to Hope

After facing what felt like an insurmountable wave of life’s challenges, Sarah found herself in a moment of sheer vulnerability, whispering words she thought she’d never say: "God, I cannot do this anymore." This episode of the You're Encouraging 5-Minute Podcast with Eric and Heather unravels Sarah’s poignant journey from despair to hope, spurred on by an unexpected message through a song. We explore the transformative power of realizing you are seen and not forgotten, even when everything seems lost. Through Sarah's story, we find the profound truth that in our weakest moments, as reflected in 2 Corinthians 12:9, God's strength shines brightest.

Join us as we reflect on the importance of shifting our focus from weariness to the One who sustains us. We encourage listeners to hold on to their faith and trust in God’s presence, even when the path is unclear. Share this heartfelt message of hope with someone who might need reminding that they are never alone; God's grace is always sufficient. Together, let us lift a prayer for those feeling overwhelmed, asking for renewed strength and a reminder of God's unwavering presence.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey, thank you for listening to the You're
Encouraging 5-Minute Podcast.
Give us five minutes.
We're hopefully going toencourage you.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
We're Eric and Heather and remember over the
next five minutes when we'rethrough.
If you need more encouragement,you can always listen to
Virginia's Home forEncouragement, wper.

Speaker 1 (00:20):
Now, if you're a little outside the Virginia area
, you can always enable the WPERskill on your smart speaker or
head over to WPERorg to downloadthe WPER app.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
If you've ever felt like you just don't have the
strength to keep going, likeyour faith is running on fumes,
if you nodded your head or evenwhispered yes right now in your
heart, or said an out loud yes,oh yeah, today's episode is for
you.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
Now, today, actually, I want to tell you a little
story, one that actually mightsound a little like your own.
But before we dive in, therewas this woman.
Let's call her Sarah.
Now, sarah loves God, she prays, and Sarah tries to do all the
right things, but life, right,life keeps knocking Sarah down.

(01:08):
Bills pile up People she trustslet her down.
Prayers that she keeps sayingto God seem to just hit the
ceiling and go nowhere.
And so one night, sitting alonein her car, she just whispered
words that she honestly thoughtshe'd never say.
Alone in her car, she justwhispered words that she
honestly thought she'd never sayGod, I cannot do this anymore.

Speaker 2 (01:29):
I think we've all been there.
Maybe you have where you'veuttered those words, or at least
thought them, or some variationon it.
You know, when you're tired,like so very tired, physically,
emotionally, spiritually, andthe word that comes to mind for
me is weary.

Speaker 1 (01:44):
Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah .

Speaker 2 (01:45):
Honestly, in that moment it feels like the right
thing to do is just give up.
Giving up feels like a loteasier than holding on.
That's where Sarah was, butsomething happened in a moment.
A song came on WPER, one shehadn't heard in years, and the
lyrics simply said you are notforgotten, you are not alone.
And for the first time in along time, she felt something in

(02:09):
her heart, a stirring, awhisper from God saying I see
you.

Speaker 1 (02:15):
Now think about that for a second.
What if you believed that samewhisper was for you too, like
right now, in your exhaustion,in your doubt, in your I can't
do this anymore moments, in yourweariness?
Like Eric said, what if God issaying to you honey, I see you,
I haven't forgotten you, I loveyou.

Speaker 2 (02:37):
Second Corinthians, 12, 9,.
God says my grace is sufficientfor you, for my power is made
perfect in weakness.
When you feel weak, you havehis power.
Do you realize what that reallymeans?
It means that in the momentswhen you feel like you ain't got
it anymore or you can't do itanymore, god's power is working
the strongest in your life.

(02:58):
At that moment, you don't haveto have it all together.

Speaker 1 (03:01):
No one does by the way, no one.

Speaker 2 (03:04):
You don't have to fix everything on together no one
does, by the way, no one, no one.
You don't have to fixeverything on your own, and no
one can.
No, you just have to hold on.

Speaker 1 (03:09):
And that can sometimes be the hardest part.
So maybe that's the challengefor you today Instead of
focusing on how weak you feel orhow exhausted you feel, shift
your focus to who is holding youup and say this with me and I
know it sounds a little crazy,but if you can say it out loud,
god, I trust you.

(03:30):
Even when I am tired.
I trust you, even when I don'tsee the way.
I trust you.
Even when I don't feel likeyou're near, I trust you.

Speaker 2 (03:41):
If this message speaks to you, don't keep it to
yourself.
Send it to someone else whomight need a reminder that yeah
they're not alone either.

Speaker 1 (03:49):
You know, can I just pray real quick?
Let's just pray together, lord,for the one who is listening,
who feels so weary and justready to give up.
Remind them right now that yousee them, that your strength is
filling them, even when theyfeel empty.
Hold them up, lord, restoretheir hope and remind them that

(04:09):
they're never, ever alone, andit is your holy name.
We pray Amen.

Speaker 2 (04:15):
Let me remind you of the verse again 2 Corinthians 12
, 9.
God says my grace is sufficientfor you.
My power is made perfect inweakness.

Speaker 1 (04:26):
Yeah, there's still more ahead for you.
God is not done with you yet.
It doesn't matter how you feel.
God still has a plan for yourlife, so don't give up.

Speaker 2 (04:37):
Yeah, hold on, keep going and we'll see you next
time on your Encouraging5-Minute Podcast.
Again, if you need moreencouragement after you've
listened to this, maybe two orthree times, you can always
listen to Virginia's Home forEncouragement, WPER.

Speaker 1 (04:52):
Now, if you aren't in the WPER listening area, you
are always able to enable theWPER skill on your smart speaker
.
You can download the WPER appat WPERorg and you can even
listen to WPER while you're atwperorg.