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Aug 06, 2023 06:00am

But I Can’t Do It!

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Have you ever felt like you were supposed to do something, but knew you couldn’t do it? That’s the way I felt when I had the opportunity to become the editor of the religious newspaper where I had worked for several years. There were so many reasons why I absolutely knew I couldn’t do it:
The position had always been held by a man — I’m a woman, and I like being one!
The position had always been held by a preacher — I’m definitely not. Teacher, yes; but preacher, no!
The position required training and skills — I had never been to college, never even taken a course in journalism and certainly wasn’t qualified!
And the list goes on and on.
So for a year, I argued with God because I knew He was the one leading me to apply for the position. (Sidenote — it’s not a good idea to argue with Him because He’s pretty much in charge and usually wins!) I remember one conversation (of many) He and I had:
“Diane, I really want you to do this.”
“But I can’t, Lord. For one thing, I don’t have the education or the ability!”
“Do you want to do it, or do you want Me to do it through you?”
“Well, that would be you, Lord, if it’s going to get done at all.”
“Then I could get a monkey to do it!”
“If you get me, you’ll have one!”
God always speaks to us in ways we can understand, doesn’t He?
The bottom line is this — God won, I applied and was elected to the position that I held for 15 years before retiring as Editor Emeritus in the fall of 2020. During that time, when someone gave me a compliment on the Baptist Trumpet newspaper, I would always tap my fist to my chest, say “Thank you. You have blessed my heart.” Then I’d point to the sky and say, “Now let’s give the praise to the One it really belongs to.”
He deserved all the praise for anything that was done right. The mistakes? Those were mine!
Acts 4:13 says, “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” That’s what succeeding at anything is all about… letting Him take control, obeying Him and giving Him all the credit.
Is there something you feel led to do, but you’re afraid because you don’t think you can do it? You can… with God’s help! It’s in the Book and it’s my two-part life verse:
“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength… and without Him, I can do nothing” (Phil. 4:13; John 15:5b).
Once you confess your sins, ask Him to forgive you and accept Him as your Savior, He is with you forever and you have His power within you. That’s the same power that created the universe!
So that hard job you’re facing is nothing to Him, and you don’t have to do it — you just have to allow Him to do it through you! Come on now… what are you waiting for?