I Can Do All Things...

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”—Jesus 

Over the years I've heard people use the expression; "If it's meant to be, it's up to me"—which, all semantics aside, is simply another way of saying, 'If I am going to succeed, it's all up to me.'

Or, another very common saying is, "You can do anything you set your mind to."

But if you've lived for at least twenty or thirty years, you know in truth that this is simply not accurate. We've all failed, many times, in things that we set our minds to. We believed, we told ourselves; "you can do this!" But we fell short, and more times than not, if we're being honest.

Some think that through the power of positive thinking they can accomplish anything. And the proof in that pudding? Survey says; No, you can't.

A former client of mine once boasted; "I can heal my own body with my mind." But she had some form of cancer which did not heal. She simply wasn't living in reality.

I've heard a lot of people quote the bible verse that says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13) They put the emphasis on 'I CAN DO ALL THINGS...' and de-emphasize "Through Christ who strengthens me." A more accurate rendering of this verse would be, "I can do whatever Christ strengthens me to do."

The emphasis is always on Christ, not I CAN DO ALL THINGS.

And the verse at the beginning of this post—Jesus' own word's—proves this. He said:

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

That's pretty simple. Without Jesus we can do nothing.

We can't bear any good fruit, do any great works, or build anything lasting without His empowerment, wisdom and provision.

And mankind's many failures and blunders are the clear evidence of that.

Here's further proof that we are totally reliant on Him:

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15)

Today, June 12, is the five year anniversary of my brain seizure I had while on a business trip. I literally thought I was dying. I didn't know if I was having a stroke or an aneurysm. I didn't know if I would survive it. After multiple tests, an MRI, and a couple of hours in the Pocatello emergency room, I was diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia, fondly referred to as the "sucicide disease." (Google it). To say that it has changed my life is an understatement. At it's worst, it was completely debilitating. I didn't think I would ever be able to work again. But only through Jesus Christ who strengthened me—have I been able to work and function again. All praise and glory to Him forever!

Yes, we have to be responsible and work and put effort into doing whatever has been set before us to yield good results. Anything less would be lazy and irresponsible. But we are not the captain of our own salvation. If it's meant to be it's not up to me. You can believe the mantras of the world and think that you can do anything that you set your mind to. Or you can believe Jesus who said without Him you can do nothing.

I choose to believe Jesus every time. 

I have failed many, many times in my life and will fail again. But God has never failed me whenever I take Him at His word. And He has proven Himself faithful time, after time, after time.

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.