Read Isaiah 12:2 

Christianity is trusting Christ, not self. 

Most people are trying to reach God, find God, and please God through their own efforts. But perfect trust is resting all of one's weight on something else, not on self. It's like resting on crutches to hold you up when you twist an ankle. You lean on them as your strength. 

Proverbs 3:5-6 teaches us to "trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."

In other words, strength comes from proper perspective. 

Elton Trueblood put it this way, "Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation." 

Strength comes from choosing to fully trust, pray, and praise. Our circumstances may not change, but in the process we change.

Excerpted from Charles R. Swindoll, Wisdom for the Way (Nashville: J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2001). Copyright © 2001 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.