You Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens You

This was originally published in the Norwalk United Methodist Church May 2012 newsletter.

I remember one day not long after Adrian and I were first married. He brought home a small handmade wooden sign he had bought in a boutique and hung it up in the bathroom. I instantly didn’t like it. The sign was green. I hate green. Also, the bathroom was purple, so the colors clashed.

I wanted to tell him that I didn’t want it there -- that I didn’t want it anywhere, but then I read the sign. It was Phillippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” My first thought was, ‘hmmm.’ Maybe Adrian didn’t choose that spot, maybe God chose that spot. In fact, maybe Adrian didn’t even choose the sign. Maybe, just maybe, his bringing it home was God’s doing and it was again God who led Adrian to the exact spot on which he put it up. It was certainly in a high visibility location where both of us would read it every day, so I thought, who am I to argue with God? I left it there, not saying a word, figuring God had his reasons.

This month, Adrian and I will be celebrating our sixth anniversary, but the sign is no longer in the bathroom. For several months now, it has been sitting on my desk, just to the left of my computer. I look at it several times a day, and it has increasing significance for me now.

When I look to my right, I see a picture of my departed mom and I am reminded of the sign to my left. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I look at how the concert team met every Tuesday night, week after week for 8 weeks working hard to pull together an awesome event and I remember the sign. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I think about how the freelance market has slowed down and how hard I am working for much less money than I have ever made and I think of the sign. I think about how hard Adrian works on his feet all day and then comes home and volunteers his time cooking for ministries like NUMC’s Manna house, and I think about the sign. 

You would think, at this point, that I wouldn’t need to see the sign at all. That I would simply have it engrained in my mind and believe. But I am, after all, human. I need constant reassurance and nudging from God that I have inside me what it takes to achieve the things I need to achieve and to overcome the things I need to overcome. Now, I can’t imagine not seeing the sign. If it disappeared, I would feel like a piece of me is missing. I wouldn’t be able to start my day.

In tough times like these, sometimes we all need a little reminding, a little nudge, and so for all of you, I want to share our sign. Cut it out. Hang it up. And read it every day, or as often as you need to. And remember, you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Phillippians 4:13

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