Strength for The Day

No clue how old the Popeye cartoon is that opens this blog. Didn’t know how to edit it or I would have only posted what I wanted to share – the part where Popeye eats his spinach. It was the highlight of every Popeye cartoon. Bluto would be beating the living daylights out of him… again… and suddenly he’d remember that he always carried a can of spinach in his shirt… he’d pull it out, open it in some creative way- you’ve got to love the way he opens it in this ancient piece of work –squeeze the can, spinach would fly into the air, yet always land neatly in his mouth. Then the good part- muscles –sometimes shaped like battleships, sledge hammers, anvils, or like in this old cartoon, filled with dynamite! Victory, and the girl… well Olive Oyl, to be more precise… always followed.

Popeye knew his secret for strength to turn to when times got tough. Do you?

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

Popeye wasn’t always tough. Definitely wasn’t always smart… although he was kind of a smart aleck… looked up his history to write this blog… his first spoken words in a comic strip, January, 1929, “Hey there! Are you a sailor?” To which he responds: “Ja think I’m a cowboy!” What wit! You don’t have to be the sharpest pencil in the pack to get the job done… but you do have to know who you are and where your strength comes from: Popeye knew, putting him ahead of Bluto, Gooney Birds and the ever present Wimpy and sadly ahead of most of us.

The world and all the heart break we face wears on us. We wash up- prepare for the day- do our best to “put on a happy face,” but life takes it’s toll and soon we feel weak, as if Bluto’s been bashing us all day long, in fact, sometimes we’d prefer a solid bashing. We each face a moment, like Popeye, when we may not say it out loud, but it’s bubbling up from deep within and our hearts cry out: "Thas' all I can stands, 'cause I can't stands no more!" It’s critical, in that moment, to remember we carry strength, we often forget, deep within.

His Word promises: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." So Paul writes with gusto that he’s going to boast about his weakness so that Christ Power will work in him. Grace, greater than spinach, greater than the battles we face today, is waiting to give us strength, comfort, power and vision to put our house in order. Popeye did it with the snap of a rug. We do it when we lay our burdens down, great as they are, in His Grace. It’s sufficient… more than sufficient… more than all we need.

Got some big battles going on today? Remember, we’ve got The Power deep within us, who can escape our weaknesses? And in our weakness, His Power is made perfect for every challenge we face. Remember Popeye: not the best or the brightest- but he knew who he was, he knew where his strength came from and he knew when to admit that he couldn’t take any more… that he needed help. We all need help. His Grace is quick to embrace us when we just ask, it’s what He’s been waiting for- it’s what we’re created for- it will take us through the beatings of today.

Popeye knew his secret for strength to turn to when times got tough. Do you?

Blessings,

Eric