You Can't Do It

You remember that line from Waterboy?  You know the one, “You can do it.” People love using this quote. We see this in politicians, actors, athletes, and business leaders. We find this idea in self-help books and DVD’s. They are all emphasizing the same thing, “You can do it.” You can have your best life now. The world is at your fingertips.

   

This is a damning philosophy, which is why I want to focus on the opposite yet truthful statement, “You can’t do it.” I understand that this may be difficult to comprehend but trust me it is a freeing statement and unlike the damning philosophy of “You can do it”, this is a life changing life giving philosophy.

We can’t do it. We can spend our entire life trying to obtain the unobtainable—ultimate satisfaction—but it will all be for naught. In our natural “Adamic” state we constantly are searching. We are searching for happiness. We are searching for that next high. We believe this satisfaction is found in money, spouse, career, or even a hobby. The question I want to tackle is can this satisfaction possibly be found apart from Christ and His work?

When thinking about this question I am reminded of Simon, James and John in Luke 5. The crowds following Jesus were growing and Jesus needed to find a place that would allow Him to speak to the entire group. So Jesus boarded Simon’s boat and asked him to pull out from land. Once Jesus was done speaking He told Simon to cast his nets for a catch. Simon, after working all night and coming up empty, reluctantly threw the nets in the water. They hauled in enough fish to fill two boats. The boats were literally sinking because of the weight of the haul. This brings us to the reaction of the fisherman in verses 8-11.

But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. Luke 5:8-11

Notice Simon’s obedience and his immediate praise to Jesus. Simon wasn’t focused on his haul. Simon wasn’t focused on the amount of money he was going to make. Simon wasn’t focused on the fish fry he was going to have. Simon was focused on the One who made it all happen. He was focused on the one who provided him with the fish and that haul. Simon realized that he deserved no credit for the catch. As a matter fact Simon realized that he was not worthy to even be in the presence of Christ. Simon understood the weight of his sin. He also understood that he must repent. Simon was screaming out, “I can’t do it!” He knew that he needed a savior and apart from that Savior he was hopeless.

I love verse 11. They brought their boat to land and “they left everything and followed him.” They left EVERYTHING. They just landed the biggest catch of the season—maybe of all time—and they left it all. This catch could have been their big break. This catch could have landed them that coveted reality show on Discovery. Well, maybe not but you see how big of a deal this was.

Why would they leave it all? Why walk away from that business? Why step off that boat into uncertainty? Why walk away from family and friends? They did this because they understood the concept behind, “You can’t do it.” They were dropping everything to follow the King—the One who could do it.

Think about your life and the things you are wrapped up in. What is your passion? What are you searching for? Are you waiting for that big catch, that big client, that big sale? Is your happiness and joy found in the things of this world? If this is the case than I am pleading with you to fall on your knees and scream to our God, our Savior, “I can’t do it.”

Notice here the focus of these verses is not that Jesus provided them with the biggest haul ever. They are not following Him as if He is some kind of genie. They are following Him because they want their identity to be intertwined with Jesus. They want to worship the Savior of the world. To them it wasn’t about the next catch, client or sale. They realized that they had all they needed in Jesus. He was enough—more than enough. Did they know what was ahead of them? Did they completely understand the calling of their lives? Of course not, but they trusted and they knew that regardless of what the future would bring they wanted to spend that time with their eyes fixed on Jesus.

I realize that this is a radical idea. I realize that this type of devotion may be perceived by some to be crazy, but I am encouraging you to follow Him wholeheartedly. This may mean you leave your business and move overseas. This could cause you to restructure your business allowing more of your profits to assist the spread of God’s word. This mindset will also have you focused on the Kingdom Dream being spread instead of the "American Dream."

This type of devotion could cause you to lose friends and even family members. Are you prepared to follow Him? Are you prepared to leave everything? In order for these changes to happen you must embrace the idea that “You can’t do it.” We know and trust in this statement because we know and trust in the One who screams, “You can’t do it, but I—Jesus—can and have!”