Growing up, I was a Disney fanatic. There are countless home movies of me thoroughly enjoying them, engrossed in many of them as if I was the main character.  At the age of 5 you can watch me dance ridiculously in front of the tv, wearing pajamas and a cowboy hat (why a cowboy hat? I have no idea, yee haw!) to the Little Mermaid’s “Under the Sea” symphony. You can also find a myriad of videos of a little girl singing her heart out, way off tune, to Mulan’s “I’ll Make a Man out of You” while her patient mother is consoling her now crying baby brother because of the unfortunate tune that has now filled his young ears. You can watch me twirling and shouting to the chorus of Pocahontas’ “Colors of the Wind” while pumping my small fist in the air to the beat of the Lion King’s opening song. But my Disney experience was forever changed when Hercules hit the big screen.  I can picture myself sitting on the living room floor, completely entranced by the story of a weak, young outcast being transformed before my wide eyes into a hero marked by his tenacious courage and brute strength. To this day, it is still my favorite Disney movie! It is a story of a man defying the odds, growing in physical and mental strength to defeat his enemies. Throughout the duration of the movie, you see Hercules devour every single one of his opponents without challenge. He would draw his sword, and his enemies would shutter, knowing the power he held was too much for them to stand against.

I am a die-hard fan for the Hercules stories of this world. Just thinking about the plot line of this movie gets me pumped up! I want to see a hero that has put the work in to be strong, both physically and mentally. Someone who is able to draw their sword and stand against any opponent on their own with an ease that makes their enemies shake. They’re a fighter; always battling for what is right and just, and they do so with the kind of confrontation that backs their adversaries into a corner. Their strength is marked by their ability to defeat their enemies without showing fear by putting on their cloak of great courage. This is my version of a story’s perfect hero; this is the hero I would bet on.

I have tried to be this hero in my own story, but spoiler alert… I have lost every time. I have strived to be strong, thinking I am capable of forging into the fire on my own without getting burned. I have strived to be fearless, not allowing myself to be vulnerable as I hold myself to a standard that was never meant to be attainable. I have strived to be a fighter, pushing others away, as my desire to be right and just does not come from a place of love, but rather a brash confrontation and rude reactions. The problem with my hero? He draws his own sword, and extinguishes his own fires. The problem with my hero? He lives a life of striving. Striving to win, striving to prove his strength, striving to be fearless, striving to fight his own battles, striving to be a hero that should only ever exist within the pages of a novel. Because the upside-down truth is this – despite what the story books and the movies might tell us, we were never created to be our own heroes. The vitality of a person isn’t solely dependent on the range of their intellect or the brute strength of their muscles. Sometimes the greatest heroes are born from the ashes of their own weaknesses. It’s their willingness to allow their own shameful failure be their truest teacher that makes them worthy of the title, Hero. Sometimes we find our greatest strengths in the ability to be vulnerably humbled by those moments of failure. There is no vitality in selfish pride, only the slow creep of your own demise.

I believe that our Creator loves us so much that he purposefully puts people and circumstances in our lives to help us shed the layer of pride that we are all so naturally inclined toward. There are many great lessons to be learned in moments of weakness and trial, and friend, it’s more than okay to admit that you don’t have your stuff all together. In fact, it’s in those seemingly embarrassing moments of vulnerability and deficiency that you have the awesome opportunity to allow God to strive for you. Stop running the race you’ve set for yourself, and tap into a loving strength that was designed specifically for the survival of your soul. He aches to see you rest in Him, while He teaches you how to put in the work with Him instead of outside of Him. He longs to meet you in those moments of weakness to renew your strength in a way that teaches you to rely on Him. You do not have to strive in this life, unless you are striving towards Jesus.

The upside-down truth is that there is more strength to be gained in your moments of absolute, gut-wrenching weakness than there ever will be in your fleeting moments of egotistical pride. 

I want to leave you today with two things: a quote from Hercules (duh, how could I not?!) and of course, a passage of Scripture I hope you take with you this week to remind yourself of what a true hero looks like in the eyes of God.

“For a true hero isn’t measured by the size of his strength, but by the strength of his heart.” – my man, Zeus.

And Matthew chapter 5, verses 3-11,

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all 

kinds of evil against you because of me. 

12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same 

way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” – My main man, Jesus.