Hosanna Restoration Church

It is the will of God that we know and love Him. It is in the knowing and loving that we learn of His strength and this gives us hope. There are many times in life when we think we can’t, and those are the times that if we trust God, we learn that we can.
Mother’s day is a special day to honor mothers, but truly God says we should always honor them. I can’t begin to imagine how many times during pregnancy and giving birth that a mother feels like she can’t and yet she does. Then there is the raising of children; again it is not easy and yet she does. It is amazing the times when I can’t, must yield to I can. God bless all who are mothers and those who struggle with this day for one reason or another. In all things, through Christ, you can; we all can.
Having said that, when I considered what Paul tells us in this letter is that we must keep God and His promises in focus. The I can comes as we learn about the through Christ, and where our strength comes from.
I think that we often forget what Paul said before this verse as we try to use it as a free pass for life. Don’t get me wrong, the word of God is powerful and always good; still, if do not understand the foundation we can wind up in pile. Just because we say we can do all things through Christ, does not mean it is always going to go our way. I could go for a run declaring I am going to run a four minute mile through Christ who strengthens me and if I don’t, does that change Him? Did He fail me somehow? No, of course not! And yet many lose faith because in a lack of understanding they misused faith.
The truth is, there is just a lot of stuff in this world that God could control, but He does not. On the other hand, there is a lot that He takes control of at our request. It can be hard to figure out the why of things. Actually it is more often impossible to figure out the why of things.
This is where this verse is most powerful. As you may know, this verse follows Paul’s declaration of being content in all circumstances. He was able to enjoy great victory and surplus as well as hard times and nothing. The I can of verse 13 reveals how and why he could.
With this firmly in our grasp, we are more than conquerors no matter what. People who know this get strengthened when it looks like they should fall apart. As mothers experience the miraculous giving birth, we all experience the miraculous as we give birth to the truth that God strengthens us in highs and lows of life.