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PROGRAM D-7902
What has you all tied up in knots? It is important that we get rid of the “knots” in our lives, to be set free from all the negative junk we continually pour into our minds. Often we are in bondage to the “have-nots” of life—focusing on what we don’t have instead of thankful for what we do have. Another “knot” that can frequently strangle us is the “can-nots.”
How often do you talk yourself out of stepping out and doing something because you tell yourself you “can-not” do it? Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” That means that everything God intends for you to do, you can do because he will give you the strength to do it.
The “can-nots” of life will keep you from accomplishing the good works God put you here to do. Ephesians 2:10 says that we were “created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” God has a “can-do” list for you to do, and he is totally capable of empowering you to do it. He has promised to provide the strength and the resources you need to do what he has called you to do. So, why do you tell yourself you “can-not” do it? Why are you tied up in that “knot”?
I know—you look at the job, you look at yourself, and you are frightened because you know that in yourself you don’t have what it takes. But this is what it means to walk by faith, not by sight. If God is saying this is a “can-do” for you, you’ve got to trust him to do through you and with you what you could never do without him. That’s what the Christian life is all about: it’s about Christ living his life in us so that we can do what he has called us to do.
It has been my experience in my years of walking with the Lord that when he calls me to do something, I am always in over my head. It is way more than I can do; I never have the education, the experience, the resources, or the know-how to do it. Yet, as God places a passion and desire within me, he is always there to accomplish what he wants to accomplish through me.
I want to encourage you to undo the “can-nots” in your life. Stop feeding yourself negative messages. I’m not advocating that you foolishly do things without much thought, prayer, and guidance. But so many of us just stay on the sidelines and never get in the game because we are filled with the fear of the “can-nots.” You’ll make some mistakes along the way, and you’ll have to learn some things through failure. But if God is in it, he will bring you through to completion and you’ll learn the joy of being involved in what God is doing. This is the abundant life! Sitting on the sidelines is really quite boring!