One morning recently, I was having a little conversation with God before I got out of bed. Honestly, I was complaining a little bit. One of my sons had been sick for a week, and I was just worn out from caring for him, along with all of my other responsibilities. I told God, “I can’t do it today. I’m exhausted, and I just don’t think I can get up to do all the things I need to do today.”
Then, God reminded me that I was exactly right in my assessment. I could not do it. The verse came to mind in John 15 that ends in, …for without me, ye can do nothing. God reminded me that I could not do it in my strength. He then reminded me of another verse, Luke 1:37, For with God nothing shall be impossible.
So many times, we try to live our lives without God. We may read our Bible and pray, but we fail to depend on Him for our strength. We acknowledge God, but then we go about our day, trying to accomplish everything in our own strength. This is exactly what the devil wants us to do. He does not have to get us to go the bar or even make us skip church; he merely has to bring us to a place of self-sufficiency to make us unproductive for God.
One of the assistant pastors’ wives at my church made a statement during a devotion that was shared with her by our former pastor’s wife many years earlier: “Don’t just read the Bible; need the Bible!” We should start every day with the acknowledgement that we cannot do it. Only God can do it through us. He is the Vine, and we are the branches. Without His life-giving power, we are powerless. We are powerless to make a difference in the lives of those around us. We cannot be the influence He would have us to be. When we get plugged into His power, however, there is nothing we cannot do!
The tasks of life may seem impossible, but we serve the God of the impossible! He is just waiting for us to realize one thing: “I can’t do it, but God can!”
By Vicki Voorhis
