God Said “I Can” written by Terrill White

Описание: People of faith, especially those of us involved in ministry, fight serious battles—and we need to be open about them so others know they aren’t alone.
This need for honest reflection is why I’ve been constantly revisiting a song I wrote nearly two decades ago. For some reason, its message is ministering to me now more than ever, and I want to share the testimony that birthed those words.

In my mid-twenties, I hit what felt like absolute rock bottom. I was living alone, fresh out of a painful divorce that had brought me dangerously close to making irreversible choices. My job was soul-crushing—I hated every single second of it. And despite being surrounded by friends and family, I was overcome by a deep, crushing loneliness. I felt like I had no one I could truly confide in and was completely convinced I couldn't do anything right. I was hopeless, and I was broken.

It was in that moment of profound weakness that I realized the truth the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:9: "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."

One night, sitting in my living room with my little dog Cletus next to me and my cheap Yamaha keyboard in front of me, the answer to my pain just rolled out of my spirit:

“If He spoke this world into existence, and at the sound of His voice He calmed the sea, He can hold our lives in the palm of His hand. Be assured when the world says, ‘You can’t,’ there’s an almighty God who can.”

I quickly grabbed a pencil to capture those words, which became the chorus. As I wrote the verses, another powerful line flowed out, one that is truly sustaining me through my current struggles: “He can take a broken dream and turn it into reality.”

That line cuts deep, because the truth is, the dreams I had for myself have fallen along the wayside. I always envisioned myself evangelizing and reaching the world for Jesus by this age. Instead, I sometimes can’t even seem to fulfill the simple call God placed on my life to serve my local church. I've run out of steam, allowed my feelings to get hurt, and given up halfway on too many things. Most of those cherished dreams, truth be told, were shattered by my own hand.
But here is the magnificent realization that is ministering to me now: God doesn't require the perfect, whole dream we planned; He just needs the broken pieces. My past failures and current inability to fulfill the call in my own strength are simply forcing me to rely entirely on His. He is the God who steps in and not only restores the fragments of our failure and sin but builds something entirely better than before.

As minister Tommy Bates teaches, “You can't mess up what God has planned. He is an expert at restoration. He takes the impossible and makes it His territory.” I’m learning that my real ministry is standing right here, in this place of challenge, and allowing God to work—letting Him use the shattered pieces of my life for His ultimate glory.
He is the God who promises to give us a “garland instead of ashes” (Isaiah 61:3). That means He can redeem my self-sabotage, my weakness, and my shattered dreams, turning them into a powerful new reality built not on my frail ability, but on His almighty power.

I can be assured: when the world—or even my own doubt—says, "You can’t," there is an almighty God who can.