I CAN DO ALL THINGS PHILIPPIANS 4:13

Paul writes, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Paul does not say this in pride and arrogance but rather in humility and faith. Paul did not think that he could do all things by himself. He did think that he could do all things that he needed to do with God’s help. We need this confidence today. Many are failing to serve the Lord acceptably because they lack this confidence. Many congregations are falling far below their potential because they do not think “they can.’ Someone has said, “Success comes in cans not can’ts.”

God does not ask us to do things and then accept “I can’t.” Yet many seem to think that this phrase is a means of avoiding responsibility. When God appeared to Moses and told him that He had selected him to stand before Pharaoh and Israel, Moses replied, Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” Moses was really saying “I can’t.” Would God select someone unable to do that which He asked him to do? Surely not. Yet if Moses was unable to stand before Pharaoh and Israel, then God had selected one that was not able. In the second place, if Moses could not do that which God called upon him to do, God was unjust. Moses certainly could not refuse to do what God called upon him to do and please God. But if he could not please God, he would stand condemned. It would be unjust for God to call upon men to do that which they can not do, and then condemn them for failing to obey Him.

Notice Moses’ next excuse. He said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’” (Exodus 4:1). He is now saying I can’t accomplish anything. He thinks it will not do any good so why bother about it. We likewise may make the same mistake. We think that our abilities are so small that our efforts will not accomplish anything. Our efforts may, with God’s help, accomplish more than we ever dreamed of.

Still unable to get away from his “I can’ts,” Moses said, “I can’t talk,” (Exodus 4:11). Moses said he could not talk and was arguing with God when he said it. What foolishness to argue with God and say, “I can’t talk.” Moses could argue with God but could not talk to Pharaoh. We likewise appear foolish and inconsistent to God with our feeble excuses.

Our “I can’ts” usually mean, “Let someone else do it,” (Exodus 4:13). Moses’ “I can’t” caused the anger of the Lord to be kindled against him. “I can’t” very seldom means we do not want the task accomplished. It simply means we want someone else to do it. Teach a class? I can’t, let someone else do it. Chaperone a youth trip? I can’t, let someone else do it. Study the Bible with someone. I can’t, let someone else do it. Visit someone who is physically or spiritually sick? I can’t, let someone else do it. Am I prepared to accept the responsibility of letting someone else do what the Lord asks me to do? I should be far more afraid of not at least trying to do what the Lord wants done, than I am afraid of failure. Instead of saying, “I can’t,” let us say, “I can’t afford not to.”
--Lamar