When We Feel Unable, Jesus IS Able
I sat staring at the notebook paper in front of me. The task was simple, yet the longer the week dragged on, the more intimidating the assignment became. It was now the end of the week, and the same paper sat on my desk, blank and empty. I could feel the overwhelming weight of this simple task. I put it off for a reason, and I didn’t want to come to the realities of that reason.
The pen slowly swept across the perfectly printed lines on the page, my hand reluctant to move the pen further. The words seemed to run close, smudging together until they blurred- an indicator I had been staring for way too long.
The “assignment” wasn’t for school, though the same urgency and dread were attached. It was given by my mom, who was in charge of holding me accountable for determining my goals for both one year and five years from now. I gave myself a week to accomplish it. I’ve still only completed half of it, making the weight of the words I write here even more so an encouraging reminder to myself.
Highlighted phrases and bullet-pointed ideas screamed importance and necessity. I scribbled the rest of my thoughts on the remainder of the paper, the top edges beginning to tear away from the spiral notebook binding. The corners of the page began to curl up due to the bad habit I’ve picked up each time I’m deep in thought or, rather, trying to escape those thoughts.
I write something down, then cross two lines to cancel the thought. It’s a common design littering the page as I think of the impossibility of the goal actually being achieved. What made me think it was acceptable to write it in the first place?
More importantly, what made me think it was acceptable for me to think I am capable of even doing it? My parents always told me that if you dream big, you do big, but what happens when you feel that’s all you can do… dream?
The burden of my insecurities consumed me in a way that was more overwhelming than the assignment itself, the fear of failure whispering doubts about any word that I wrote becoming a reality. I drew the line through another goal I wanted to set, yet I believe to be too impossible to achieve and believe myself too incapable of reaching.
The problem was not that I couldn’t think of goals; I was not quite sure how I would accomplish them. Or IF I could accomplish them.
It’s safe to conclude that I allowed my insecurities and doubts about myself and my abilities to get the best of me, though I do not think I am alone in grabbing at the slivers of doubt that sometimes come. Even the most confident people have tough days, blind to the abilities we are truly capable of.
Ephesians 2:1-2 says, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins, in which you once walked, follow the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body…”
We were dead in our sin.
We were slaves to our desires.
We were children of wrath, caught up in the things of this world.
BUT GOD.
Verses 5-6 say, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.”
- We were dead in our sin, BUT GOD raises us out from our troubles of sin and allows us to walk alive in Him.
- We were slaves to our desires, BUT GOD lets us walk in the freedom of His redemption.
- We were children of wrath, caught up in the things of this world, BUT GOD saves us because of our great need for Him.
He is rich in mercy and abounding in love! Through Him, we can live fully in the strength He graciously gives so that we can walk in freedom.
We may be tempted to live how we once lived, listening to the world, which tells us we are not capable or able or worthy. We may throw our fists in the air through our struggle, begging to know why we were placed in this season of life if this path is clearly what we were created for.
If we’re supposed to be capable, why does it feel so hard, why does it feel so lonely, and why do I feel incapable? We may question God on why He chose us and question why we are in the place we are. It’s because we have to remember…
BUT GOD.
When circumstances seem impossible and the goals we set leave us feeling incapable, we must cling to this piece of scripture.
I may not have the capability to do anything, but Christ has the ability to do everything.
We often feel unworthy or incapable because we are. We think of all of the tasks we have to do and things we have to achieve. But the burden is not ours to carry, and the mission is not ours to completely fulfill. When we determine we cannot do something, we are really saying God cannot do something, which could not be further from the truth. Therefore, our argument is completely wrong and utterly invalid IF we choose to rely on God’s strength.
I may have some goals I feel are unattainable, but I know that if it’s part of God’s plan, He will give me the strength to do the unimaginable.
I am not able to accomplish all things, but Christ is able. We cannot be so uncertain of ourselves nor skeptical of the gifts and talents Christ has blessed us with that we fail to live out our purpose and miss out on what God wants to do in our lives because we fear rejection and hate uncertainty.
We must move boldly and confidently in the direction He calls us even if we tend to put a question mark at the end of a true statement.
What we often feel is impossible are often the very things God uses to do the impossible work we could never imagine.
I closed the notebook and finished writing what I know to be true instead of looking at my circumstances and believing it would be impossible.
It turns out I was right. I am not capable of fulfilling any of the goals on my own. But God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly beyond what I can do. With Christ, I know anything is possible, and I am capable of conquering anything.
And so are you.
One Comment
Ma
I am so proud of everything you have accomplished and overcome. It would have been impossible to do by yourself.