TEXT:
‘O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? – Romans 7:24
THOUGHT:
When God created man with freewill, there was always the danger of self-will and self-reliance. It’s so easy to think, “I can please myself and do what I like! Why do I need to rely on God?”
After becoming a Christian when we realise we need a Saviour, it becomes all too easy to fall into the trap of trying to live the rest of our life in our own strength. Then we wonder why we come crashing down to earth when things go wrong and we end up drifting away into isolation and self-condemnation.
The world is filled with self-help motivational books, dvds and tv programmes advocating we can find the answer within if we look hard enough. Just as we could not save ourselves from the consequences of sin, so we cannot live the Christian life apart from Christ. It is time for Christians to take a reality check and cry out, “I can’t do all things” and then in faith turn to the One who can. There are several key areas in which we need to acknowledge this truth.
- Temptation and Sin
It is much easier to believe in the forgiveness of the sins we committed before becoming a Christian, than the ones we commit afterwards. Guilt makes us reluctant to talk to God about it, although He knows anyway. The key to breakthrough in this area is to realise, “I can’t do it!” It was only when the Apostle Paul cried out, “I do what I do not want to do and do not do what I want to do; who can help me?” that he realised where the answer lay. ‘I thank God … through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ 1 The power to overcome, lay in relying on the One who would help him overcome. Not continually looking at the sin but at the Saviour! Then Paul could say, ‘The life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.’ 2
- Prayer
There are 3 key areas concerning prayer where it is easy to get it wrong.
- We do not ask!
- We ask for the wrong thing or in the wrong way. 3
- We do not know what to pray for.
The danger with this is that we end up praying set prayers parrot-fashion or we do not pray at all. The Bible says, ‘We do not know what we should pray for as we ought to.’ Don’t stop there, read on! ‘But the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us.’ 3 When we do not know what to pray for, it is time to say, “Holy Spirit, I do not know but You do, so pray through me according to the will of God.” Then we can pray using the unknown tongue and with groanings, which although a mystery to our natural mind, are fully understood by God.
- Independence
Talking to people at the Saltash May Fair, we came across many who had once faithfully attended a church, but now for whatever reason, have chosen not to fellowship with other Christians on a Sunday. Although disobeying the clear Biblical command of ‘not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together,’4 they justified their disobedience by insisting they were alright on their own. Yet a quick look at the Bible reveals how much we need each other. ‘The body is not one member but many …. and the eye cannot say to the hand I have no need of you.’ 5 It should have a detrimental effect on the church if you are not there. You miss out and others do too. If you are not regularly attending a church at the moment, it is time for you to cry out, “I can’t be the church on my own, I need the rest of the body” Then set about finding somewhere you can regularly attend to give and to receive.
- Ministry
A powerless gospel does a great disservice in the community. It sends people to the occult to find answers that the church should be providing. Jesus commanded His disciples, ‘Wait until you are endued with power from on high.’ 6 ‘I am the Vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.’ 7 How pride makes us think we can do the work of the ministry! This is the reason why so little gets done. Do not go one day further. Lift your voice and cry out to God, “I can’t do what You have called me to do unless You do it through me.” Then allow the Holy Spirit to come and fill you with the same power as the disciples received on the Day of Pentecost!
The Apostle wrote, ‘I can do all things – through Christ who strengthens me.’ 8 Whichever way God takes me, whatever I may encounter along that way, I can continue because Christ is the inner, motivating force in my life. Paul said in reality, “I can because the One who is in me, can!” The one who had written, “I can’t”, now shows clearly why he can.
Do not let your “I can’t do all things” become a big negative in your life but turn it into a positive by boldly declaring, “I can’t but He can!” Allowing Jesus and the Holy Spirit to do just that, you will never regret it.
1 – Romans 7:13-25 2 – Galatians 2:20 3 – Romans 8:26
4 – Hebrews 10:25 5 – 1 Corinthians 12:14,21 6 – Luke 24:49
7 – John 15:5 8 – Philippians 4:11
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