Most, if not all, of us have at one time or another said, “I can’t.” Whenever I uttered those words as a young boy, my Dad would always remind me that, “Can’t never accomplished anything.” In like manner, one of my business partners would always tell our sales people, “If you think you can, you can. If you think you can’t, you can’t. Either way you are right.”
Both were expressions of positive thinking and reminders to not limit ourselves. Yet the reality of life is that there are some things that are too big (even for a positive thinker). For the Christians, these are the times when we must call upon our faith.
At one time or another we find ourselves saying something like, “I can’t ever get out of debt,” or “I simply can’t live with this woman (man).” Or perhaps, “I simply can’t live like this anymore.”
Sometimes these “I can’t” declarations may take other forms such as, “I’ll never dig my way out from under this mess.” Or, “If he/she ever lies to me again it will destroy me.” Yet for the Christian, all of these statements represent incomplete sentences.
As Christians we should remember to finish those sentences with, “but God can!” Someone once told me, “God does His best work when we’ve come to the end of ourselves.” It is in these moments when God is glorified and we learn that He can do what we cannot.
It’s important to remember that these kinds of “I can’t” statements generally fall into two categories:
1. A temporary lack of faith.
2. A willful act of rebellion against God, saying in effect, “I will not allow You to work to change my circumstances.”
The latter is a sin, a rebellion against God. And it is important to remember that ALL sin ALWAYS has consequences.
If we remember God’s words, spoken by Paul to the church at Philippi, Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” we see that our God is a loving and compassionate God whose desires for us are always in our best interests.
We must also remember the words of Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” In other words, the “I can’t” message is from God’s enemy.
If we go back in time to Moses and the Exodus, it is possible to see what happens when we ignore God and listen to our own fears. The result of the Israelites listening to the ten fearful spies was another 40 year lap around the desert.
So, if we prefer to stay in the desert we can listen to the “I can’ts.” Or we can choose to listen to God and enjoy Promise-land living. The choice is ours.
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