From our earliest days we are taught by our parents, coaches, friends, and others that “you can do this.”  I don’t know how many times I heard, especially when it came to sports, “Don’t quit. Don’t give up. You can do this.” Granted, there is something to be said for perseverance and not giving up.  I often heard the statement, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”  My competitive streak wouldn’t allow me to quit. Whether it was something I can do for myself or something that the team could do, quitting was never an option. It was drilled into me “The game is not over until the last out.” “You don’t quit until the buzzer sounds.” And, to be honest, those served me well…in sports. 

But that “I can do” philosophy also transferred over to my Christian faith. For years I lived with this albatross hanging around my neck of perform, perform, perform. “Never quit.” “Never give up.” “You can do this.” After all, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” (Phil. 4:13) But even something good can be taken too far. So like many before me and (there will be) many after me, I hitched up my pants, tightened my belt, pulled up my bootstraps, and labored on in my own strength, but under the guise of a Spirit-led life. How futile. How sad. 

I have come to realize there really is one big difference between the life of laboring to please God and the life God intended for me to live: my standing with God does not hinge on perfect compliance to rules and hitching up my belt to “do my best,” but on His rock-solid promises to me. He never changes. He never wavers in His love for me. When I stumble and fall He doesn’t stand there saying, “Told you to trust Me!” No, He reaches down and lifts me up, dusts me off, and then says, “Let’s walk this road together.” 

Live authentically but don’t fear failure. Trust the One the psalmist describes in chapter 102: “They will perish, but you remain forever, they will wear out like old clothing. You will change them like a garment and discard them. But you are always the same; you will live forever.”  (verses 25-27) 

Stop the “you can do this” talk and exchange it for “He can do this through me.”  As a fellow blogger always closes with: Be encouraged.