During our “Ride 4 Refugees – Syria 2 Lebanon” I texted this to Sharon on Friday, September
16, “Just finished my ride through some beautiful, forest roadway in middle Missouri. The hills
were a killer. The hardest thing I've done in a while. I need a nap. Hope all is well.”
Of course, as I generally tend to do, I just hit on a few highlights without going into much detail.
I’m kind of a bottom line person and have a great, personal fault of not usually wanting to
communicate or hear the minutia. Anyway, for this aging, flatlander the hills were indeed very
difficult. Beautiful but agonizing. In fact, as I stood on my pedals, stubbornly laboring up steep
grades, I had to keep telling myself, “I can’t do this!”
At first, this might sound like a defeatist attitude or someone with a great lack of confidence or
determination, but that’s not at all true in my context. Rather, as a Follower of Jesus, they were
simply heartfelt prayers of admission and confession. A coming clean, admitting the fact, that
there are many things I can not do in my own strength, but can only do so by way of Jesus in me.
This was not a confession of defeat, but an acknowledgment of what I have found to be so true,
such as found in Exodus 14:14 and Philippians 4:13.
“For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (NLT)
“The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” (NLT)
Far from the believer’s statement, “I can’t do this!” – being a statement of defeat, it is an
acknowledgement of our great need of the power and person of Jesus working within us by way
of the Holy Spirit. It is a confession of our great need of the One and Only for whom all things
are possible. It is getting to the heart of the matter that we desperately need Jesus for all things.
One of the primary points of the entirety of the Old Testament is this truth, “We can’t do this!”
After all, out of all the people groups on the planet, God had made the Nation of Israel, His
chosen people. He gave them His Law. God did the miraculous many times on their behalf and
He provided them with Prophets, Judges, and Kings. But yet, they continued to turn away from
Him and live life their way, rather than, His way. Indeed, a broken record. The Old Testament
made it very clear we could never be who God desired for us to be and that we desperately
needed a perfect Savior.
Please hear me; Until you can come to the heartfelt and honest, personal confession in all things that, “I can’t do this!” – you will be unable be the person or walk the path God desires. You can never be the type of friend, sibling, parent, spouse, or person God desires for you to be, until you admit you need the help and provision of the only Savior of the World and only Son of God, Jesus.
Peace,
steve
16, “Just finished my ride through some beautiful, forest roadway in middle Missouri. The hills
were a killer. The hardest thing I've done in a while. I need a nap. Hope all is well.”
Of course, as I generally tend to do, I just hit on a few highlights without going into much detail.
I’m kind of a bottom line person and have a great, personal fault of not usually wanting to
communicate or hear the minutia. Anyway, for this aging, flatlander the hills were indeed very
difficult. Beautiful but agonizing. In fact, as I stood on my pedals, stubbornly laboring up steep
grades, I had to keep telling myself, “I can’t do this!”
At first, this might sound like a defeatist attitude or someone with a great lack of confidence or
determination, but that’s not at all true in my context. Rather, as a Follower of Jesus, they were
simply heartfelt prayers of admission and confession. A coming clean, admitting the fact, that
there are many things I can not do in my own strength, but can only do so by way of Jesus in me.
This was not a confession of defeat, but an acknowledgment of what I have found to be so true,
such as found in Exodus 14:14 and Philippians 4:13.
“For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (NLT)
“The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” (NLT)
Far from the believer’s statement, “I can’t do this!” – being a statement of defeat, it is an
acknowledgement of our great need of the power and person of Jesus working within us by way
of the Holy Spirit. It is a confession of our great need of the One and Only for whom all things
are possible. It is getting to the heart of the matter that we desperately need Jesus for all things.
One of the primary points of the entirety of the Old Testament is this truth, “We can’t do this!”
After all, out of all the people groups on the planet, God had made the Nation of Israel, His
chosen people. He gave them His Law. God did the miraculous many times on their behalf and
He provided them with Prophets, Judges, and Kings. But yet, they continued to turn away from
Him and live life their way, rather than, His way. Indeed, a broken record. The Old Testament
made it very clear we could never be who God desired for us to be and that we desperately
needed a perfect Savior.
Please hear me; Until you can come to the heartfelt and honest, personal confession in all things that, “I can’t do this!” – you will be unable be the person or walk the path God desires. You can never be the type of friend, sibling, parent, spouse, or person God desires for you to be, until you admit you need the help and provision of the only Savior of the World and only Son of God, Jesus.
Peace,
steve