Able

March 12, 2018

I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able.

Able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.

Able to make all grace abound toward you; that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.

Able to help those who are tempted.

Able ... to save to the uttermost those who come unto God by him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them.

Able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.

Able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

He shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

Do you believe that I am able to do this? ... Yes, Lord. According to your faith be it unto you.

—2 Tim. 1:12.  Eph. 3:20. 2 Cor. 9:8. Heb. 2:18. Heb. 7:25. Jude 24. 2 Tim. 1:12. Phil.3:21. Matt. 9:28,29.

These Scriptures were the March 8 evening reading from Our Daily Light, and have been rolling around inside my mind for the past three days. Like most people, I suppose, when confronted with a challenge that seems insurmountable, my first reaction is, “I can’t.” 

“I can’t pass this test. I can’t resist this temptation. I can’t give a tithe (10%) of my income. I can’t lose weight. I can’t learn another language. I can’t follow my dream. I can’t forgive.” The list goes on and on. I’ve uttered most of these words more than once. The problem with this kind of thinking is its focus. The issue in life is never what I can or cannot do; it is only what God can or cannot do. And when it comes to God, the cans far outweigh the cannons. He cannot lie. He cannot abandon his own. He cannot fail. 

The older I get, the easier it is to say, “I can’t.” But when I look at these Scriptures and see what he is able to do, my inability fades into obscurity. When God can, how dare I say, “I cannot?” When Caleb was 85, he begged Moses for another mountain to conquer. Years before, whenever we read his name, it is with these words: “except for Caleb.” He refused to follow the crowd, instead choosing to believe the promise of God that the land he had surveyed he was able to claim. Forty years later, his vision, energy, and passion had not diminished. “I am as strong today as I was forty years ago; So give me this mountain God promised me.” (Joshua 14:11-12). Most 85 year old men would have long before settled into a comfortable retirement. Not Caleb. He was able because he knew his God was able.

So today, instead of complaining that whatever is before me is too hard, or I’m too tired, or I have other things I want to do, I’m going to re-read these Scriptures and remind myself that no matter how I feel, no matter how big the mountain, God is able. And if he is able, I am, too.