During his lifetime, man seeks strength in order to achieve success: for the weak cannot continue. Rather, they are moved by the wind wherever it pleases, or broken by the waves of time or storms of life. They fall, never to return to their original state. So, be strong, dear reader.
Be strong in facing hardships and painful experiences: for these have been set to make you stronger. Utilize them for your benefit and strengthening your heart. Do not make pain or frustration deject you. Rather, destroy them with your strong faith, patience, and endurance. Some say, “Never make a matter, no matter how hard it is, destroy your will.” “Do not stop at pains or troubles; overcome them.” You have to know they are but a training that boosts your capabilities, skills, and wisdom in life.
Reposed Pope Shenouda III said, “Be strong in facing tribulation. Do not allow it to destroy you. Rather, destroy it with your strong faith. If a glass bottles falls on a rock, the rock does not break, but the bottle. So, be a rock.”
He also said, “Pass before it makes you bitter.”
So, be strong with your patience. Do not be weak, or internally defeated: for true defeat springs from man’s inside, not outside.
Have a strong will. It is said, “The difference between a successful person and the others is not lack of strength or knowledge, but of will.” A strong will by which man realizes his dreams is the measure of his strength. A person who has strong will makes decisions, works, and defies the impossible. Meanwhile, a person with a weak will starts and never continues. His weak will does not allow him to continue.
Be strong in your patience: for it is said, “Patience, usually, offers us more than what strength does.” Indeed, many people achieved more than what they wanted due to their patience, accompanied by toil and confidence in the potential God has granted them.” Many achievements are accomplished by patience accompanied by toil.
Do not seek strength outside you: for it does not reside, as some believe, in money or tangible authority. True strength means that you overcome these limits into a broader world that realizes the meaning of inward strength.
