Strength for Every Step
Well, good to see you, friend! Just look at you strollin’ up to this ol’ front porch like you caught wind of somethin’ worth hearin’ before the day runs off without you. Go on now, pull that lawn chair right under this Crepe Myrtle tree where the breeze is actin’ like it knows how to behave, and the shade is workin’ harder than an ol’ farmhand in July. I’ve been sittin’ here watchin’ a bossy lil’ woodpecker givin’ a bewildered turtle “the what‑for” just because he dared to mosey past her favorite tree trunk. And it got me to thinkin’. Folks guard their “I can’t” phrases the same way that lil’ ol’ woodpecker guards her territory peckin’ at anything that threatens her little patch of certainty. And Philippians 4:13 tells us plain as cornbread, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” That there verse is about to shake loose every “I can’t” you’ve been draggin’ around like an ol’ worn’out feed sack that’s been patched one too many times.
Most Christians have picked up a language you can’t find anywhere in scripture. It’s that “I can’t” talk that slips out when life gets real tough. Folks say, “I can’t read well,” or “I can’t cook,” or “I can’t memorize scripture,” or “I can’t stand certain things.” Friend, that there’s not Bible talk. That there’s defeated talk. And just so we don’t miss it, let’s weave in Zephaniah 3:17, which says, “The Lord your God is in your midst, mighty to save, rejoicing over you with singing, and quieting you with His love.” If God Himself is singin’ over you, He sure ain’t whisperin’, “Bless their heart, they just can’t do anything.” No, He is singin’ some of His glorious strength right on into your bones.
And let’s add one more truth to the mix. Second Corinthians 3:5 say, “We’re not sufficient in ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God.” Now, that there’s a verse that’ll make you sit up a whole lot straighter. It plum means God never asked you to be the strong one. He never expected you to haul the whole wagon all by yourself like some overworked ol’ farm mule. He simply asked you to trust the One that supplies all that there strength.
Ol’ Moses tried the “I can’t” language, too. In Exodus 3:11 he said, “Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh?” Moses looked at his limitations the way a nervous ol’ crafty goat looks at a closed gate. Jeremiah did the same thing in Jeremiah 1:6-7. He said, “I cannot speak, for I am a child.” And God said, “Say not, I am a child.” God shifted Jeremiah’s eyes from his weakness to His unlimited ability.
Friend, when God calls you, He sho’-nuff’ covers you. He sho’-nuff’ equips you. He sho’-nuff’ strengthens you. He don’t ask you to bring your own toolbox. He brings His. That’s why Paul could boldly say, “I can do all things.” Not because Paul was impressive, but because Christ was his strength.
Father, thank You for remindin’ me that Your strength is what carries me. Help me throw out every “I can’t” and replace it with Your truth. Teach me to trust Your ability more than my limitations. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Alright then, friend, as you step on into the rest of your day, carry this truth the way a happy gardener carries the first ripe tomato of summer, knowin’ it signals more good things on the way. God’s strength ain’t weak like a scarecrow that folds over the minute a stubborn gust of wind decides to show off. It’s mighty steady like a well‑worn footpath that’s held up under years of footsteps. Its plum gentle like a soft rain that coaxes life out of the dry ground. And it’s surely powerful enough to take your smallest act of obedience and set it in motion like an ol’ wagon rollin’ down a hill, gathering purpose and momentum you never expected. So go right on, friend, step forward with a willin’ heart because the Lord knows how to turn every faithful “yes” and grow it into something mighty remarkable.
With joy,
Gwen
