I Can’t

“I know what I’m supposed to do, and I just simply can’t get myself to do it. 
“I’ve prayed. I’ve asked God for help. I’ve taken steps I’ve been told to take. I’ve waited. I’ve waited more. I’ve read books, talked to people, and still can’t get over this hump.”

Oh friend. First. You should be so proud of yourself. You should be so proud that you’ve prayed about it. That you’ve asked God for help. That you’ve waited. That you’ve sought wise counsel. That you’ve taken steps of obedience.

It wasn’t in vain.

And if you still aren’t where you think you need to be, then the process isn’t over yet. You are not defined by your failure. And God hasn’t failed you. 

God is for you. He isn’t against you. God loves you. He isn’t disappointed in you. And God is present. He hasn’t abandoned you.

Praise God for your confession that you can’t do it. Praise Him for being a God who can. And worship Him for being a God who has. He triumphs over the grave, and he holds you secure. Let him do his work in your life, for behold, he can make all things new.

I know it can be frightening to feel like you’ve given everything you can to something and yet you still don’t see the progress or result you’re looking for. It’s exhausting.

And so dang discouraging. 

But it’s okay to feel depleted. Because it isn’t the end we think it is. It isn’t the failure we might sense it’s getting labeled. And it isn’t the identity we might be tempted to adopt. “Don’t make peace with your sin,” a friend once encouraged me. Sin will never take us where we want to be. But some things just take time, and God is so patient and tender to give the time that we need.

Keep trusting that it’s worth it to fight. Worth it to persevere. And also know that we will never fully “arrive” as believers. This side of heaven, we will never get to a point where we finally stop sinning, finally have complete purity of heart, finally don’t need to lean on Jesus constantly and for everything. 

But we will get there. That is promised. We fight from a place of victory, knowing that we are guaranteed the day that we no longer struggle. We are guaranteed the day that sin is destroyed, for it is already defeated.

Don’t dwell on your circumstances and certainly not your abilities, but rather keep your eyes on Jesus. He is the author and perfecter of your faith. The one who could do it. The one who did do it. And the one who credits it to you.

Keep believing what’s true. That He loves you, He is for you, and through Christ you are at peace with God. He is always with you.

In Christ Jesus, we were made for good works. And he who began the good work in us will bring it to completion. That is his promise, and he who has promised is faithful. 

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And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. – Hebrews 12:2 NLT

being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. – Philippians 1:6

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Read: Ephesians 1
1 Peter 1
Romans 5
Romans 8

Sing: Rock Won’t Move
Getting Ready
Battle Belongs