Philippians 4:13 — I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Matthew West is holding one of those letters. The kind written so carefully. It was like the writer needed to steady her hands before she started. He opens it slowly. A mother’s voice comes through first. Warm. Tender. The kind that loves deep and worries harder than she lets on.
In her letter, she tells Matthew about her daughter, Haleigh, and a car ride close to home that should have been uneventful. But on the road there was black ice slick as Crisco in a cold skillet. With one quick slide and one hard impact, everything familiar got shattered.
I bet you can picture it too, because we’ve all driven those roads before. The kind where you’re almost home and already thinking about what’s for supper. Then the tires lose their grip, and there’s nothing left to do but pray and brace yourself.
The letter keeps going. Hospital rooms. Surgeries that blur together. Rehab that demands grit you don’t know you have. Haleigh learning how to stand again, and most days are measured by small victories most people would never notice.
Somewhere in that long trial, someone tries to offer comfort. They mean well. They always do. They say God won’t give you more than you can handle.
Haleigh’s response lands, plain and steady. She says if that’s true, then God must think she’s pretty strong.
Matthew was touched by that. It was so relatable. We’ve all said things like that on difficult days. All the while, we’re holding ourselves together with prayer, coffee, and the stubborn belief that quitting isn’t an option.
Back in that letter, it becomes clear Haleigh didn’t make it through on sheer determination. She made it through because when her strength failed, God’s didn’t. She stood—not because she was unbreakable—but because she was held by Him. That realization settles into Matthew’s heart and doesn’t let go. He picks up his pen to honor her story, and a song starts forming.
When “Strong Enough” finally finds its way to radio, it met me as a listener right where I was in my car. Midday. Mid-life. Mid everything. And I recognize myself in it—not in the victory, but in the needing.
Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” I’ve heard it since I was knee-high and recited it in Sunday school. It’s stitched it into my memory, but now it reads differently.
It doesn’t sound like a challenge. It sounds like relief. Like permission to stop pretending the strength was mine to begin with.
So, if today finds you tired but faithful, steady but stretched thin, you’re not failing. You’re living the kind of faith that shows up. The kind that knows God’s strength has a way of carrying us when ours runs out—and that, somehow, is enough to keep going.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
- When you hear “I can do all things through Christ,” do you tend to hear it as pressure or as promise?
- Where in your life are you currently relying on your own strength instead of God’s?
- Have you ever experienced a season where God carried you when you had nothing left to give?
- What does it look like for you to admit weakness without feeling like you’ve failed?
- How might trusting God’s strength—rather than your own—change the way you face today?
L Y R I C S
You must
You must think I’m strong
To give me what I’m going through
Well, forgive me
Forgive me if I’m wrong
But this looks like more than I can do
On my own
I know I’m not strong enough to be
Everything that I’m supposed to be
I give up
I’m not strong enough
Hands of mercy won’t you cover me
Lord right now I’m asking you to be
Strong enough
Strong enough
For the both of us
Yeah
Well, maybe
Maybe that’s the point
To reach the point of giving up
‘Cause when I’m finally
Finally at rock bottom
Well, that’s when I start looking up
And reaching out
I know I’m not strong enough to be
Everything that I’m supposed to be
I give up
I’m not strong enough
Hands of mercy won’t you cover me
Lord right now I’m asking you to be
Strong enough
Strong enough
‘Cause I’m broken
Down to nothing
But I’m still holding on to the one thing
You are God and
You are strong when
I am weak
I can do all things
Through Christ who gives me strength
And I don’t have to be
I don’t have to be strong enough
Strong enough
I can do all things
Through Christ who gives me strength
And I don’t have to be
Strong enough
Strong enough
Oh, yeah
I know I’m not strong enough to be
Everything that I’m supposed to be
I give up
I’m not strong enough
Hands of mercy won’t you cover me
Lord right now I’m asking you to be
Strong enough
Strong enough
Strong enough