Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”
This is one of the most memorized and quoted scriptures. Empowering, motivating, reassuring … yes … and it’s a call to action.
Notice it doesn’t say, “I can do all things through Christ who does it for me.” Unfortunately, many times we view God as a genie in a lamp. God was never supposed to do your work for you.
Think about Noah. God told him to build an ark, a huge boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet tall. If the ark were a house, it would have been over 100,000 square feet. Translation … it was big. Really big. There was a flood coming and his ark would be the only way of survival for man and animals.
Now God being God, couldn’t he have just built the ark himself?
But that’s not the way God works now is it? God told Noah to build the ark and Noah worked for nearly 100 years to build what God could have done in an instant.
That almost doesn’t seem fair now doesn’t it?
There are likely areas in your life where you wish God would show up and just do the work for you. But God called you to BUILD A LIFE and that requires work. Will you work for it?
Let’s break this famous scripture down so we will never hear it the same. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
“I.” Who does it say? “I.” This is personal. You should be owning it. Insert your name into this scripture. Pamela can do all things through Christ who gives her strength. Yes, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
“I can.” Not “maybe, sorta, it might happen or it might not”, no! I can. Say that with me. I CAN. Sometimes we just need to remember we are more capable than we ever give ourselves credit for. We have all the potential within us. We are fully equipped by our maker. Listen to me right now … you are not broken. You are not incapable. You are not helpless or hopeless. You were made for more. You are capable of more. You are worthy of more. And you CAN.
Now the third word “do.” “I can do.” Does that mean think about, contemplate, sit around and rationalize, talk about and plan for? No. “I can do.” This is a call to action. I can do.
Your life requires action and you CAN DO IT. I know you can. You can rise up and make the changes you desire. You can radically change your life. What has this entire month of life been for you? Have you done what you can do? Have you taken action? Have you stepped out in faith? Or have you chosen to just remain where you are and think about what could happen? Have you been wishing for change but never doing anything about it? Let me shoot it to you straight … that’s never going to work! You can do it and you must do it. It’s time to go, do, show up, move forward, step ahead, now. Today. Be in action. Why are you sitting on those dreams and desires?
You can do ALL THINGS. Did you hear that? How many things can you do/ Can you only do SOME things? Are there some things that will just be too hard? Are there some things that will be impossible for you? Nope, that’s a lie the enemy has sold you. YOU CAN DO ALL THINGS, and that includes “this” thing that you need to do today. The thing you’ve been avoiding – the thing you’ve been dreading – the thing you’ve tried before and failed – you can do it. The enemy wants you to believe you can’t. He wants to remind you of your past epic failures. He wants you to dwell on your weakness and shortcomings. DON’T LISTEN TO HIS NONSENSE TODAY. God says you can do all things, believe it!
How? THROUGH CHRIST, meaning this is a partnership. When you live your life as a partnership between you and God, you realize he does his part and you do your part. He goes before you to make a way, he walks beside you to guide you, and he walks behind you to cover your back. Through Christ you can do all things today. With this partnership you are able. With him before you, beside you, and behind you, nothing will be impossible! Nothing can come between you and your destiny. Nothing can stand in your way. When God is for you, who can be against you? And just in case you forgot, yes my sister, GOD IS FOR YOU!
And now the grand finale “I can do all things through Christ who GIVES ME STRENGTH.”
And this is where it gets real and it gets personal. Why didn’t the scripture just end after “I can do all thing through Christ.” I like the idea of that. But this is the part we sometimes miss. It WON’T BE EASY. It was never supposed to be easy. You’re going to need strength, strength you didn’t even know you had. You don’t even know how strong you are until you have to be strong. That’s the kind of strength God is talking about here.
Strength like Noah’s to get up for 100 years and keep building a boat in the middle of a drought when everyone thought he was crazy.
If it was easy you wouldn’t need strength.
Easy is the counterfeit to the life you were created for. An easy life is the imitation to your BIG Life. You need strength to take on the day you were meant to live, and it’s given to you by Christ so that you can accomplish the things you need to accomplish today.
“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” AND I WILL!