Someone Needs to Be the Strong Man

Strength in the midst of the storms of life. This is what men are called to be.

Are you prepared for the day when your number is called to be the strong man?

Bad things happen in life. Death, divorce, breakups, shattered dreams, disappointments, fears, hardships are all around us. Sometimes the stability of our world is threatened, and people’s foundation is shaken. People lose hope.

In times like these, many desperately need a source of strength. They need someone to help lead them out of the mental downward spiral that often accompanies hardships. They need someone with answers, direction, and hope. Men are called to fulfill this need. They are called to be strong in the midst of the storms of life.

I believe we should constantly be working to be this type of man. We should have the ability to bring stability in the midst of chaos. We should be able to lead others out of dark situations and into better places.

Recently, I experienced this in a couple ways.

The first was during the time of Covid. While much of the rest of the world was at a standstill, paralyzed by panic and fear, my family and the families of the men in my tribe were moving forward.

With my group of men, we were building contingency plans, feeding off each other’s ideas, and preparing for what could possibly happen. At the same time, we were moving forward with life by working hard to be an example.

Many used the situation to justify their world collapsing, telling themselves and others, “I cannot work out anymore,” “my diet is suffering, and I am gaining weight,” “I am unable to continue living in a meaningful way,” etc. But within the tribe of men I associate with, we were using this hardship to improve at rates far beyond the time before Covid.

Many of us worked hard to maximize our fitness (one of the best things anyone can do to battle any illness) and improve ourselves physically, mentally, and spiritually. While others were paralyzed by fear, we were working and becoming stronger. We were improving our lives and the lives of our families. We were being examples and setting the tone that this would not stop us from moving forward in life. We all came out of this time stronger than we were when it started.

The second time I experienced this is in the recent death of my dad. I really thought we had another five to ten years left. Right up to the end, we thought he would pull out of it. But dad passed on February 15, 2021.

In many ways, I am certain that the work I had been doing over the previous years helped prepare me for this time. I had pushed through many hardships, facing and destroying the root causes of those things that made me weak physically, mentally, and spiritually. I worked hard to dial myself in to become much better at being a strong man.

When it came time to join forces with my brother in making decisions, leading the family to find strength in the Lord, I was prepared. The night dad was removed from the machines and took his last breath, it was my time to be strong. Both my dad’s lifelong mentoring of me and the work I had been doing to build strength as a man came together with the power and grace of God.

God led me to the perfect Scripture verses and words that encouraged our hearts and made us realize that God had this entire situation well in hand. He carried my dad and walked with him from this life and into the next.

Along with our closest friend, we then led the effort at my dad’s funeral service to honor my dad and honor God. We were able to be strong in a time when many needed to see strength. Having the strength to lead in these times is the difficult thing that men are called to do. In my mind, this is what we are training for. We are training for life.

The strength I built over the past couple of years in body, mind, and spirit enabled me to remain strong in the midst of these hard times. Through this and other situations, I have learned many things. Here are three that have helped me successfully navigate hard times and be a strong presence, a rock, for those around me.

Build Your Round Table

As men, we need a round table of strong men that can help us in our quest to become stronger men. We need to surround ourselves with men that are committed to this path. These need to be men that want to be the best men they can be in body, mind, and spirit.

Here are a few characteristics I think make good round table men. Round table men are engaged in the battle and consistently taking action to become stronger men. They talk about improving, but more importantly, they DO IT! Round table men are men you can trust with your struggles and weaknesses. You can share it all with them and rant when you need to. These men have your best interest at heart and want to see you win. They tell you what you need to hear to become better. They are experienced men that have fought some battles and won and are willing to share this with you.

These are the types of relationships that pay huge dividends. These are the relationships men need to have. As the proverb says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17)
Too many men today are lone wolves without a pack. Lone wolves will never achieve the strength of those with a pack. The pack makes us stronger. Men within a pack learn from each other. We have a place to unload when the pressure builds up. We can get it out and get the help we need to readjust our mindset and go back into the world, taking on the hard things of life.

Often within my round table of men, I will find a man who had similar experiences to those I am facing. They offer great advice based on what worked for them. They tell me what to look out for and what they would do differently if facing the same thing today. Many times just talking it through gives me clarity for making better decisions. I cannot overstate the strength I have gained by having these discussions.
If you want to be the strong man in the storm, start building a round table of strong men.

Repair Chinks in Your Armor

Talk to other men that walked through storms of life. Listen to their hardships. Put yourself in their shoes. Think about what it would be like if the same thing happened to you. How would you respond? In what ways do you feel like you would have a hard time? What opportunities does this reveal? When you talk to other men, ask them what they found most challenging. What would they do differently today?

Visualizing yourself in these hardships and asking these questions helps reveal the chinks in your armor. It is a great way to identify our weaknesses before real life hits. It allows us to formulate and execute a plan that will strengthen potential weaknesses. It will enable us to repair these things and become stronger and more prepared. Now we can begin to do the work and address these issues.

In addition to this, we should think about how we respond to different levels of stress? What habits and addictions do we fall back to when the pressure is on? Do we run to things like porn, drinking, drugs, or other vices? What are the root causes and reasons we run to these things? What pain are we self-medicating? Address these root causes, and we will become stronger and healthier and better prepared to handle the weight of the hard things in life.

Or maybe we do not run to these things, but we just become too emotional and cannot respond in strength to certain things. Identify those and work with your round table to develop actions to address these issues and become stronger.

Improve Your Carrying Capacity

Do hard things regularly. Do not pull back from the difficult things in life. Push into them. They will help you to learn how to carry more. In training your body, you need to apply stress over time to build your muscles. In much the same way doing hard things builds up your ability to handle stress. The best way to do that is to take on the difficult things of life. You will develop the ability to think clearly and do the right things amid life’s most stressful situations.

Another thing you can do to help improve your carrying capacity is to talk with your round table when you lean into the hard stuff. Run it by these guys to get their insight. What happened? How did you respond? Why did you respond that way? What went well that you want to do again? What did not go well, and how could you do it better in the future? Build a better plan for the next time. Look for the opportunity to put yourself to the test again.

For me, I like to jot down a few notes and review the main points I want to imprint into my mind. I have found that the practice of writing it down, saying it aloud, and repeatedly reading helps me to ingrain it in my mind.

Like anything in life, the key is to do the thing you want to improve. Nothing beats repetition. Step up to the plate and be the strong man that does not back off. Engage and improve your ability to carry more.

Call to Action

In this world, we will have trouble. What action can you take to prepare yourself for the inevitable? Someone needs to be the strong man that steps up, provides direction and hope. Why not you? The only thing stopping you is you. Start today. Build your round table, identify the chinks in your armor and begin the work of repairing them, and do the hard things that increase your ability to carry the weight. Identify a couple gaps and do something today. Do not wait and allow it to go to the wayside.

Hardships are guaranteed to happen for all of us. We need to prepare. All of our training, physical, mental, and spiritual, is done to improve our ability to successfully live the life we have been given. Take action!

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In your corner,