You can do anything you put your mind to! You can do anything if you just believe in yourself!
You’ve probably heard these phrases or similar ones thrown around in our culture. While they seem motivating and encouraging on the surface, they are actually not true! I can’t stop a speeding train if I just put my mind to it. I can’t fly or have super speed if I just believe in myself. I can’t do these things because I don’t have the power to do them. Human beings have limited power. But there is Someone who has unlimited power – God.
“But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’’ Matthew 19:26, ESV
Our God is omnipotent! This word means that God is all-powerful. He has unlimited power, and all things are possible with Him! He can do anything He puts His mind to. By His great power, He created the entire universe, and His eternal power is clearly perceived in creation. Nothing is too hard for our God (Jeremiah 32:17, 27; Romans 1:20). Even the mighty winds and thrashing waves obey Him (Matthew 8:27), and nothing can stop Him-
“Then Job answered the LORD and said: ‘I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.” Job 42:2
God can do all things, and His purposes and plans cannot be stopped. He is able to do far more than we could ever ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). Our God is all-powerful, but we are not altogether powerless. God does give human beings a limited amount of power, and He gives each of us certain strengths. But we don’t always use our power and strengths for good. Jen Wilkin writes about this in her book, None Like Him–
“God entrusts each of us with a limited amount of strength, much as He entrusts us with other gifts… All strength, whether physical, emotional, or intellectual, can be used either to serve or self-elevate… May we be strong in the Lord, armed and ready to use every ounce of our God-given strength for good.”[1]
All of us have something we’re good at. We all have strengths and gifts, but we often use our strengths to serve ourselves and make ourselves feel better. This is not why we’re given these gifts! God gave us all different strengths so that we could serve God and serve others in our own unique way. We must use our special strengths for good, not evil. After all, none of the power and strength we do have is our own. All our strength and power is from God and belongs to Him (Ephesians 3:16, 20)!
There will be times in your life that you will feel absolutely powerless. You might feel like there’s nothing you can do to help certain situations. But there is something you can do: pray! We have an omnipotent, all-powerful God who greatly cares about His people. And He has given you limitations so that you will remember that it is Him who truly holds all power and so that you will turn to Him in prayer. Though He has given you limitations, He has also given you certain strengths. What are you good at? What areas are you strong in? Take those strengths and use them to serve those around you and glorify God! Praise God today-
“Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure.” Psalm 147:5
[1] Jen Wilkin, None Like Him: 10 Ways God is Different From Us (and why that’s a good thing) (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016), 126-127.
