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When people say this, is this just an extension of "I can do it, I can do it?" That is the way many people seem to be actually saying it! Does it really work out after they say it? Perhaps it works as a self-addressed pep talk. But it is not a magic formula that works because we say it, even if we are truly born again Christians and 'in Christ'.

"I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Php.3:12,13). Paul is referring here to learning to adjust to differing situations such as plenty and need, and saying that with the grace he receives from Christ he has learnt to be content with both kinds of situations. So we can also learn to take hold of the grace of God and learn to be overcomers. We can then become able to do whatever God wants us to do. Whenever we face our human limitations when we have to do the will of God, we can expect that He is able to give us help so that we can overcome those challenges.

If we are feeling timid when we are asked to give our testimony before a group of people, if we have to stand without compromising when we come under pressure, if we have to live from our side with situations which cannot be changed, if we face personal weaknesses which have held us in bondage for a long time, etc., – yes, the grace of God can make the difference for us. We can become overcomers through the grace of Christ. We can even be more than conquerors – for example, we can not only overcome but become those who can help others also to overcome. To repeat, we can become able to do whatever God wants us to do.

But it is totally out of place to say, "I can do all things in Christ" when we are thinking of doing anything we wish to do for our own personal dreams or plans. Have you noticed how it has become a trend in the world to motivate people to make big dreams for themselves and then to pursue after those dreams? It is fine to help people to get out of their diffidence or lack of motivation. But to use 'Christ' in this way is a total misunderstanding of who He is. He is not a servant standing by like Aladdin's genie to do our bidding, and neither has He promised to help us with whatever plans we make for ourselves. Sadly, even in much of 'Christian work' it is people who make the plans and then ask God to bless them!

The priority Jesus wants us to have is to aim for lifting up the name of God and doing His will perfectly (Mt.6:9,10). If we make our own plans and ask God to bless us, we don't even understand the way God works with man. It is His prerogative to work in us to tell us what we need to do, and then our response is to work out what He has planned (Php.2:12,13). God is God, and we are only created people who are imperfect and sinful in every way.

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