The Breaking Point That Taught Me God Gives Me Strength

Noah was the dependable one. He led his family well, worked long hours, volunteered at church, and still found time to help friends move on weekends. He didn’t complain — he just carried the weight. That’s what strong men do, he thought.

But over time, the cracks started to show. He snapped at his wife over little things. Missed his son’s baseball game and forgot his daughter’s recital. He felt guilt, but pushed through. “I’ll make it up next week,” he’d say. But next week never came.

This was the moment his strength gave out — and grace stepped in.

He stopped sleeping. His chest tightened randomly. He had trouble remembering conversations. And one morning, while driving to work, his hands started shaking. He pulled into a gas station, put the car in park, and cried harder than he ever had.

He didn’t tell anyone that day. He just went home, made excuses, and kept going. But two weeks later, he passed out at work. The ER ruled out anything physical. “Stress and exhaustion,” the doctor said. But Noah knew better, his soul was starved.

He didn’t need a new plan — he needed a new source.

A few nights later, he sat in his dark garage, asking God why he felt so empty. His Bible was on the shelf, dusty. He opened it randomly and landed on Philippians 4:13: “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” He read it three times. And for the first time in months, he didn’t feel defeated, he felt seen.

That night, he prayed a prayer he’d never prayed before: “I’m done trying to carry this alone. If you want me strong, You’ll have to hold me up.”

The next few months didn’t get easier, but they became lighter. Noah stepped back from a few things. He got counseling. He spent mornings in prayer, not performance. He took long walks with worship music in his ears. And most of all, he stopped trying to “power through.”

He started noticing the little moments again, breakfast with his daughter, a quiet evening with his wife, a verse that pierced him. He still worked hard, still served, but now from a different place, a rooted place.

Now, when someone says, “Man, how do you do it all?” Noah smiles. “I don’t,” he says. “I used to try, until I learned the hard way that God gives me strength. I don’t need to be enough. He already is.”

Where do you most need God’s strength right now?

• In my emotions
• In my relationships
• In my work or calling
• In staying spiritually focused