I CAN DO THIS!
Recently, while nursing a cup of coffee on my deck, I was thumbing through the pages of an old Bible of mine. And by "old" I mean a copy of the New Century Version (NCV) of God's Word that I used routinely about ten years ago. My eyes came to rest on Psalm 18. This psalm is a song of victory from the heart of King David and I've loved it's description of rescue and restoration for years. But what caught my eye on this particular morning was something I'd written in the margin. Verses 20-37 outline David's response to God's rescue. He says things like:
- The Lord spared me because I did what was right.
- Lord, you are loyal to those who are loyal.
- You save the humble but bring down the proud.
- God is a shield to those who trust him.
- I chased my enemies and caught them and I did not quit until they were destroyed.
In context, these phrases (and many, many others) are wonderful and encouraging and in keeping with God's faithfulness to his children (us!) as they strive toward the obediences the Bible commands. But here's how I responded to them. In the margin I wrote four words: I. CAN. DO. THIS! In my less-mature years as a believer, I read these words and set my mind on doing the best I could to act this way; to trust God, to be humble, to fight my [spiritual] enemies, to do right. And while my goal was noble and my earnestness respectable, I was missing one very important detail; a detail I'm only learning now as the Lord matures my faith: NO. I. CAN'T. DO. THIS!
No I can't be humble, but I can receive humility when I surrender to the conviction(s) of the Holy Spirit. No I can't do right in and of myself but I can walk hand in hand with Jesus every day and allow his "right-ness" for me to shine through to the watching world. No I can't outsmart the devil by trying to fight my spiritual enemies on my own...I'll lose every time. But I can keep myself seated at the foot of the cross - through repentance and yieldedness - knowing that it's there where I'll "receive mercy and find grace to help me in my time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). No I can't be loyal to God, I'm actually pretty helpless. But I can fix my gaze on my Savior and be gradually changed into the likeness of the One I adore.
So, in acknowledgment of this new reality I wrote a new phrase in the margin of my Bible. Directly under the old one I wrote 'No! I can't do this. But with the Holy Spirit's leading, guidance and humbling work in my life, I can fall more and more in love with my Savior and thus be changed from the inside out.'