Why You Can't Do It

 
    Hi!


  So we are going to start this off with things that piss. me. off. 
Hardcore.  Things that people say to encourage you, but are a complete and utter lie. Affirmations that are empty. Here are some of them:


"You can do this!"
"You got this! It's okay."
"You can do it yourself."
"You are so strong!"
"Believe in yourself!"
"You can do all things!"
And the one that pisses me off more than all the rest:


          "God won't give you more than you can handle."






  I've been thinking about this for a long time now and I was at a loss because everyone says this crap. I couldn't figure out why I would hear this stuff and instead of it encouraging me as the people had intended for it to, it would make me angry. It made me feel worse. It would make me think they were lying to my face.
And it is because they were.


  I can not do this. You can not do this. I don't have it. You don't have it. I can not do it on my own. You can not do it on your own. I can not believe in myself. You can not believe in yourself. I can not do anything. You can not do anything.
  And God most certainly WILL give you more than you can handle.


  Now, before you get your granny panties all up in a twist, hear me out;
Hear the Scripture out.


 I know people (myself included) mean well when they say this crap, but when we do say this stuff, we obliterate many, many Bible verses that tell us that as humans, we can do nothing. We are nothing.
We diminish the role that God plays in our very breath and being.


 Obviously, I'm not saying that we can't do anything at all because clearly we are, in that we live out our lives everyday. But what I am saying is that without God, we can not. Whatever it is, we can not.
If we could do everything, we would have no need for God at all.
  A lot of people, when you are going through hardships, will quote the verse, Philippians 4:13- "I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength."
Which is true, but we say it without giving full attention where it is due. We pick up from this verse that we can do all things. We discredit that it is only through Christ that we can. (I believe I've touched on this subject in another post too, but it's important so here we are.)


  Again, myself included, we all do this. We tend to believe we can live self-sufficient, rather than Christ-sufficient.
        BUT...


  John 15:5, Jesus tells us, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (NIV)
  Matthew 19:26 -"With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible." (NIV)
  Ephesians 2:8-9 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast." (NIV)
 These scriptures, yes, tell us that we will bear fruit, that we can complete impossible tasks, and that we are saved, but they also tell us that without God, we can't do squat.


~Side note, the word "squat" makes me giggle.~


Moving on,
   We know Genesis says God created us, Heaven, earth and life itself, but not only that, we have John 14:6 where Jesus tells us that He IS life.
"I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (KJV)
   How could we be so foolish to think that we can do anything without our Creator? How dare we think we can do anything without Life, Himself?
 
We can't depend on ourselves, or 'believe in ourselves' enough to be saved, which is exactly what you read with Ephesians 2:8-9; it is by the grace of God, only.
 We aren't strong. Paul even says in 2 Corinthians 12 that it is through our weakness that the Lord is strong and His power rests on us.
"And 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.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
  See, if we were strong enough, there would be no need for the perfect power of Christ to be with us.
 


       Now, back to the statement that pisses me off the most...
"God won't give you more than you can handle."


  I full heartedly believe He will. As I said earlier, if we had everything all figured out, we wouldn't need Him. If the tasks He gave us were possible merely by human strength, we wouldn't call to God to help, but Colossians 3:23 tells us to do everything we do for the Lord. So, a task that is not impossible without God is a pointless task.
I think we have the tendency to read verses like 1st Corinthians 10:13 that says,
"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." (KJV)
  And we either think that we will simply not struggle, or if we do struggle, it won't be more than we can handle on our own. But the verse tells us we will struggle with wanting to sin. We will desire to do it, but God is the one who provides the method of escape and strength to do so.






  When I was living with the Lang family, there were frequent times when I would be sitting in front of a plate of food, or having the urge to self harm and sobbing, "I can't do it! I can't do it!!" and Cathy would just try to encourage me in The Lord and help me through it, but I just couldn't.


  Then one day, that I still remember so vividly, I was having a literal break down because Cathy had told me to go take a shower. I was so engulfed into Depression and wanting to die, that the simple thought of getting off the couch to shower, was way too much to handle. I laid on that couch for hours just weeping and crying that I couldn't do it. I couldn't take a shower.
I couldn't live. I just couldn't.
  Zach, Cathy's husband ended up coming over to me and sitting down, which scared me itself because I knew he was going to tell me to get up... and through tears, I cried once again, "I can't do it!!!"
He then took my face in his hands and looked me in the eyes in such a loving and gentle way and said,
 "You are completely right, Nichole, you can't do it. You can't. YOU can not do it."
  It was one of the most real things I had ever heard. When Zach said that to me, I think it was the first time that I really understood that I had a desperate need for God and that's exactly what he told me. To this day, I find myself saying that I can't do something and I'm reminded just how right I am. I need the Lord in such a way that my very life depends on Him.
  And that's not a bad thing. It is actually extremely encouraging to know that not only am I not strong enough, but I don't have to be strong enough.
 I'm not self-sufficient and that is perfectly okay. I am weak and it is a good thing. I can not do it and because I can not, my God steps in.


  When we try to live as though we can do it on our own, we give the devil more power. We give him room to show us just how right we are but without showing us that we have The Rescuer.
  When we try to be self-sufficient, we destroy the chances of letting our Savior be who He is and do exactly what He does: save
  Let Him save you! Rejoice in your weakness!
 
Mark 2:17 says "Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
  We are all sinners and we all fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) so be encouraged in that He came for you! To be your strength; to help you accomplish everything, even the impossible. Embrace that God gives you too much to handle, and rely on Him!



  See, impossibilities become impossible when you serve the God of the Impossible. His grace is sufficient; His strength is enough. We are weak and that's a good thing.