Daily Devotional

When my wife and I first started dating, we banned a phrase that we (mostly me) were using too often. That phrase was “you can do it,” including variations like “you got this.” Why in the world would we do something like that?

We found ourselves using “you can do it” or “you got this” to encourage each other when facing a difficult task or situation (an irritating roommate, a daunting assignment, etc.). It’s a pretty common admonition in our world today. There are many times where, for whatever reason, we hesitate in the face of difficulty. Sometimes we are fearful about a challenge ahead and need to be reminded to be “strong and courageous… for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). At other times, the obstacle might be our own laziness, and we need to be challenged to “work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men” (Colossians 3:23). So what’s the problem with using “you can do it” as shorthand for these biblical reminders? After all, Philippians 4:13 says “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

What Lauren and I found was in using “you can do it”, we emphasized the “I can do all things” part of Philippians 4:13 and forgot “through Him who strengthens me.” When facing a problem, my tendency was to muscle up enough confidence and determination to tackle it in my own strength. When I tried to encouraged Lauren with “you can do it,” what I usually meant was
“Pull yourself up by your bootstraps and work harder.”

This philosophy is everywhere in our culture. How many movies reach a resolution because the main character learns to “believe in yourself?” Psychologists and social media personalities assure us that all our problems are surmountable through the power of self-belief. It’s the American mythos: with enough hard work, determination, and self-confidence, the world can be yours. “God helps those who help themselves,” right? Like the Little Engine that Could, chanting “I think I can! I think I can!” enough times can get us over any metaphorical hill. But is this true?

If we look at Scripture, the answer is a resounding “no.” Scripture says not to lean on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). God’s power is made perfect in weakness, not strength (2 Corinthians 12:9). Jesus puts it simplest: “apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Nothing! In other words, as depraved sinners, whose best deeds are no better than “polluted garments” (Isaiah 64:6), the only way we are capable of living a life that pleases God is through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Romans 8:5–8). If our response to life’s challenges is “I got this,” without recognizing our total and utter dependence on God’s strength, we commit the sin of pride. We aren’t saved by grace to be sanctified by our own effort; “apart from me you can do nothing” makes that pretty clear. Thus, the self-reliant worldview hiding in the phrase “I can do it” is antithetical to the reliance on God that is at the core of godly living.

So for Lauren and I, “you can do it” represented trying to do things in our own strength instead of depending on God, a sort of “bootstrap Christianity.” To remind ourselves that we can do nothing apart from God, we opted to replace “you can do it/ you got this” with “you can’t do it/ you don’t got this.” It reminded us that, like Paul, to “boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me… for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9–10). “I can’t do it” is a cry to God to step into the midst of our fears, failings, and frailties and empower us to live for Him.

Maybe you’re a spiritual tryhard, like me, and need to be reminded that “I can’t do it.” Do I recognize my dependence on God? Has my Christian worldview been infected by the “self-believism” that our culture hawks at every street corner? Do I try to face life’s challenges in my own strength, or in the strength that God provides? Maybe all of us could benefit from hearing “you can’t do it” more often then “you can do it.”

"English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers."