STRENGTH FOR THE STRUGGLE

Strength for the Struggle

Have you ever faced a moment when every resource around you and every ounce of strength within you simply was not enough? Maybe it was a diagnosis no doctor could fix. Maybe you hit a financial wall that refused to move. Maybe your heart broke in a way that no friend could comfort or repair.

Life has a way of bringing us to places where human help falls short and our own inner strength runs dry. In moments like these, we begin to understand the message of Zechariah 4:6.

The prophet Zechariah ministered during a time when Israel had returned from Babylonian captivity. Jerusalem lay in ruins. The temple was only a foundation surrounded by rubble. Zerubbabel, the governor, was tasked with rebuilding what once reflected God’s glory, but discouragement surrounded him on every side. Vision was high, but resources were low.

The people believed in God’s promise, yet progress felt painfully slow.

Then God stepped into Zerubbabel’s moment of inadequacy with a vision and a word:
“It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

Zechariah 4:6 (NLT)
The message was clear. When human strength hits its limit, the Spirit of God takes over. What God did for them, He continues to do for us today. Ephesians 3:20 declares that God is able to do immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine through His power at work within us.

This raises a question every believer must wrestle with: What happens when we run out of answers?

To find strength in the struggle, Scripture gives us four powerful reminders.

1. When Your People Aren’t Enough

We often lean heavily on the support of others. The Hebrew word “might” in Zechariah 4:6 refers to the strength of armies, alliances, resources, and human networks.
Friends, family, and community are blessings from God, yet their help is limited.

Psalm 20:7 reminds us:
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”
God is not opposed to you having support. He simply does not want you to believe that human support is the source of your victory. That was Zerubbabel’s challenge. He could have thought: If I only had more workers… if I only had more money… this temple would rise. Yet the Lord responded: Not by might.

Human connections are useful, but they are not ultimate. Psalm 127:1 says the labor is wasted unless the Lord builds the house. People can help you fight the fire, but only God can send the rain.

2. When You Aren’t Enough

Sometimes the issue is not that others failed us. It is that our own ability cannot carry us further.

The Hebrew word for “power” refers to personal strength, talent, intelligence, and grit. Zerubbabel was a capable leader, but even then, God told him his ability was insufficient to finish the assignment.

Isaiah 40:30–31 gives us hope:
“Even youths will become weak and tired… but those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.”

Self-reliance creates exhaustion. Self-effort has a breaking point. Our skills and stamina are gifts, but they were never designed to accomplish spiritual work apart from the Spirit of God.

When your ability ends, the Spirit’s power begins.

3. His Spirit Will Make Up the Difference

This is the turning point. God did not point out human insufficiency to shame Zerubbabel, but to shift his confidence.

The word for Spirit, rûaḥ, carries the meaning of breath or wind. It is the same breath that formed creation (Genesis 1:2), the same breath that filled Adam with life (Genesis 2:7), and the same power that raised Jesus from the dead (Romans 8:11). That Spirit is the difference-maker.

Zechariah 4:7 declares:
“Nothing, not even a mighty mountain, will stand in Zerubbabel’s way.”
The mountain represents every obstacle, every barrier, every intimidation tactic of the enemy. What humans cannot overcome, God will flatten.

Acts 1:8 promises believers power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them. That word “power” is dynamite spiritual strength. It is explosive. It is miraculous. It cannot be explained by human reasoning.

If you are trying to rebuild your marriage, restore your family, heal your heart, or rise from the rubble of brokenness, God has not asked you to finish that work alone. His Spirit is not a last resort. His Spirit is the source.

4. Your Final Response Is to Stand in Victory

Once the Spirit has supplied the strength, Scripture gives a simple final instruction:
“…having done all, to stand.”
Ephesians 6:13 (NKJV)

Standing sounds passive, but spiritually it is powerful. Paul’s language pictures a soldier refusing to surrender ground. You do not stand in your weakness. You stand in God’s armor. You stand rooted in truth. You stand in the strength of the Spirit who cannot fail.
Sometimes victory looks less like movement and more like stability. When the storm ends, the tree that still stands testifies to the unseen strength of its roots.

You do not prove victory by how far you move forward. You prove victory by standing firm while the battle rages.

Conclusion: Strength for Your Struggle

So what do we do with this?
When the support of others fails:
Not by might.
When our own inner strength crumbles:
Not by power.
When the mountain feels immovable:
But by My Spirit, says the Lord.

Zerubbabel finished the temple, but it was not human strategy that made it possible. The Spirit of God moved kings, united people, and removed obstacles. What seemed impossible became reality.

God fulfilled His promise then, and He will fulfill His promise to you.
So friend, if today you are staring at a mountain, if your strength is gone and your help is too limited, hear the voice of God:
Stop striving in your own ability.
Start standing in His power.
Your struggle is not the end.
His Spirit is enough.