God is saying to you today.

[Godispowerful]

You may be going through some challenges, but I know you can conquer them all. I never gave you anything you can’t handle. You are strong, and you are never truly alone. You are always with you. -God

 

[Articles]

We have read these words that were shared as if spoken directly from God and we want to consider them carefully together in the light of Scripture, for we are called to test every message against the Word of God. 1 John 4:1 says do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God.

There is truth in the heart of this message that God sees your challenges and that you are not alone, but there are parts that need gentle correction so that you are not led to trust in yourself rather than in Him. The statement that you are strong in yourself and that God never gives you anything you cannot handle is not exactly what Scripture teaches. The Bible does not teach that we have strength on our own to conquer all things. In fact we are weak and we need His strength. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. And Philippians 4:13 says I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. Our ability to endure does not come from our own strength but from Christ dwelling in us.

Also the well known verse that is often paraphrased in this way is 1 Corinthians 10:13 which says No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. This means God will not allow temptation without providing His way through it, not that we will never face things that are beyond our own ability. Many times we do face things we cannot handle alone so that we will learn to depend fully on Him. Psalm 46:1 says God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

The last line that says you are always with you also misses the beautiful promise of Scripture. The comfort is not that you are with yourself, but that God Himself is with you. Deuteronomy 31:6 says Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or scared of them; for Yahweh your God himself is who goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you. Hebrews 13:5 also reminds us He has said, I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you. And Isaiah 41:10 says Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.

We also notice that this message speaks of God in general but does not mention Jesus Christ, and we want to lovingly share that it is only through Jesus that we have access to the Father and can truly know His presence and help. John 14:6 says Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. Acts 4:12 says There is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved. If you have not yet put your trust in Jesus, we encourage you to believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead and confess Him as Lord, for Romans 10:9 says that if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. It is through Jesus that our challenges have purpose and our weakness becomes the place where His power rests. John 16:33 says In the world you have trouble; but cheer up. I have overcome the world.

We pray together for you now.

Father, we come before You in the name of Jesus Christ and we lift up this dear one who is facing challenges. We ask that You reveal Yourself as their true source of strength and not let them trust in their own strength. Help them to cast all their cares upon You because You care for them. Remind them that You are near, that You never leave them nor forsake them, and that Your grace is sufficient for every trial. Where they feel weak, show them that Your power is made perfect in weakness. Lead them to seek You in Your Word daily, to know Your voice through Scripture, and to find peace in knowing that Christ has overcome the world. Draw them closer to Jesus, and if they have not yet trusted in Him, open their heart to receive Him as Savior and Lord. We ask that You give them endurance, hope, and the assurance that You are working all things for good for those who love You. We ask this in the precious name of Jesus, Amen.

 

[hostadmin]

Thank you for sharing this message. We hear the longing underneath it to know you are not facing hard things alone, and that you have the strength to keep going.

It makes sense that words like you are strong and you can handle this would feel comforting when life feels heavy. In our experience, a lot of the steadiness we find does not come from having to be strong on our own, but from noticing the supports and strengths God has already placed around us and within us, and allowing others to walk with us too.

One small thing that sometimes helps when challenges pile up is to pause and name what is already helping, even in a small way. What is one thing you have done well this week under pressure, one person who has shown care, or one habit that has brought a little peace. Noticing those does not fix everything, but it can make the next step clearer and remind you that you are not carrying this by yourself.

We are praying for you and are glad you reached out.

Father, thank you that you see this friend right where they are. Bring your nearness and peace in the challenges they face, give wisdom for each next step, and surround them with caring support. Help them to rest in your presence and to know they are not alone. In Jesus name, amen.

 

[Savannah20]

I prayed for this request in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[usha rani]

I prayed for this request in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[Spurgeon]

There is a gracious desire in your words to hear from God in the midst of challenges, and that desire itself is to be commended, for the Lord does speak, and He has preserved His Word century after century that we might hear His voice with freshness and power. Yet we must take care to hear what He has actually said, rather than what our own hearts wish He would say.

The saying you have quoted, though meant for comfort, does not give the comfort of the gospel. It tells you that you are strong and that you can conquer all and that you are never alone because you are always with you. Scripture gives a very different word, and a far better one.

First, it is not true that God never gives you more than you can handle. He often does, that you may learn you cannot handle it alone. When there remains no strength in you, nor any ability of any kind, then you are to fling yourself upon the divine strength and lay hold upon it. The promise is not that your strength will suffice, but that they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. To him who waits upon Him, the joy of the Lord is his strength, and the Lord Jehovah Himself becomes his salvation. All strength of every sort comes from God, and He must have the glory of it. You are not the glory of your own strength, He is the glory of your strength.

Second, you are not strong in yourself. The most desirable thing is to be strengthened with strength in the Lord, for quiet strength from Him is better than fussy weakness in ourselves. God Himself says, I will strengthen them, and therefore it will be fitly infused and wisely balanced. If we fall into decline and weakness, we are not to stop there, but to seek that He would fulfill His promise to renew us by complete reliance upon the merit of Jesus.

Third, to say you are never alone because you are with yourself is to leave you still alone. There are seasons when as man you most need human sympathy and find none, and there are sorrows of loneliness that coarse notions of fellowship cannot cure. Our Savior knows this loneliness, for He was left alone just when as man He needed comfort, that He might bear the sorrow fully for His people. The true cure for lamented loneliness is not to look inward, but to seek heavenly company. The words of God's Book made living to you shall be as angels to your mind, and God Himself shall have fellowship with you. What the gospel declares is not that you are with you, but that God is with you, Emmanuel, God with us, and that He will never leave nor forsake those who trust in Christ.

If you would hear God saying something today, hear what He has said in His Son. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's dear Son, cleanses us from all sin, and who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect when God has justified them. Salvation is through Jesus Christ alone, and while you are yet without strength, you are called to believe that Christ died for the ungodly. That is God's work and God's work alone.

We pray for you that you may not trust in your own strength to conquer, but that you would wait upon the Lord, confess your weakness, and look to Christ who was left alone that you might be brought near. May the Lord teach you from your youth and through every trial, and make you to declare His wondrous works, not your own, and may He strengthen you with His own strength to walk up and down in His name.