Don’t Believe Everyone Who Says, ‘You Can Do it!’

Just as grapes are dependent on the vine, we can't
succeed apart from the true Vine.

As a journalist, I’ve always been intrigued by communications, both in theory and in practice. Today, with social media, the Internet and the plethora of TV programming, not only on networks and cable but also on many other platforms, traditional radio has become an afterthought for most people. 

However, I still enjoy listening to radio, especially while driving during the day. I particularly enjoy hearing some of the nation’s best preachers and Bible teachers. One of them is Alistair Begg, an engaging Scotsman who pastors a congregation in Cleveland, Ohio. 

 

Recently he was talking about his initial exposure to the American game of football, very different from the football he was familiar with in his native Scotland. We call it “soccer.” Trying to figure out the strange American sport was difficult enough for Begg, but what really caught his attention were cheerleaders.

 

As the game progressed, the cheerleaders’ team was getting clobbered. Unfazed, the girls continued to shout, “You can do it!” even though – as Begg recalled – “no…they couldn’t.” No amount of enthusiastic cheering could help the team’s overmatched offense and defense.

 

Bringing the illustration home, he observed that as we travel through life, we confront formidable challenges. We might we try fortifying ourselves with self-talk. “I can do this!” Or friends offer words of encouragement, “You can do it!” Sometimes, however, like the beleaguered football team Begg observed, we can’t. What do we do then?

 

We can grit our teeth and try even harder. Or we can quit, concluding that it’s hopeless. But there’s a third, and usually better, alternative.

 

Many times, when we conclude, “I can’t,” we’re just moments away from realizing, “but the Lord can!” Especially when we’re engaged in matters making a difference for eternity. This is why the apostle Paul wrote, “I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13). 

 

He was referring to the many times when he confronted great difficulties or had serious needs. Paul had seen God accomplish the seeming impossible – delivering him from shipwrecks, freeing him from prison, sustaining him through beatings and riots, and other trials. Even if friends were telling him, “You can do it!” Paul knew that without the Lord’s intervention, he couldn’t.

 

In similar fashion, Jesus used a common grapevine to illustrate our need to rely totally on God. Just as the branches must draw their sustenance from the vine, He said, “I am the vine and you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Our best efforts and intentions – apart from Christ – amount to nothing.

 

I have experienced this many times, even when I didn’t realize how the Lord was intervening on my behalf. One time is forever etched in my memory: After accepting a job to work with CBMC, a Christian ministry, my family and I were moving from Houston, Texas to Chattanooga. My pastor suggested that I speak briefly to our congregation, asking them to pray for our transition – but my initial response was, “No, I can’t. I’m not a public speaker.” The prospect of standing before hundreds of people during a worship service terrified me.

 

However, God impressed upon me this was something He wanted me to do, and reluctantly I agreed to do it. “I can’t do this myself, Lord,” I prayed. “You’re going to have to empower me to do it.” And He did. 

 

God gave me a sense of peace and confidence. My nerves calmed and I saw the faces of many folks who had been a part of my spiritual growth over the past three years. As I spoke, I experienced the truth of Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

 

Years later, working for a sister ministry, my boss asked me to travel to Brazil to offer encouragement and support for people serving the Lord in the marketplace there. Again, I thought, “I can’t do that. That’s not my area of expertise, I don’t know anyone there, and I can’t even speak Portuguese.” Again it was like God was saying, “I know you can’t – but I can, working through you.”

 

The trip to Brazil far exceeded my greatest expectations, none of my trepidations came to pass, and I even returned there a couple of years later. To this day I remain in contact with some of the friends I made during those visits. 

 

Drawing from his own experiences, the apostle Paul wrote that the Lord gave him the assurance, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness” and he could therefore conclude, “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” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

So, the next time you’re confronted by a daunting, even overwhelming challenge and people cheer you on saying, “You can do it!”, don’t feel badly if you know you can’t. Because if the Lord wants it to be done, He can do it through you.