Can't and Won't are not the same thing. There are some things I just can't do: turn back time, change the way other people act, get a "do-over" for past mistakes...the list goes on. Honestly, though, so many times when we say Can't, we really mean Won't.
Usually when we say we can't, it's because we're anticipating doing something in chunks that are just too big or too scary to handle. I remember when my husband first suggested we climb Mt. Whitney! "What? I can't do that... I'm not a hiker...I'm not in shape...I don't have the right stuff..." You get the idea! And yet, just a few months later we did it. How? By taking the process in little steps. I started walking. We started taking easy day hikes. We saved our money to buy appropriate gear. We tackled more challenging (moderate) hikes. While I can't say I breezed up the mountain, or that I didn't have to bribe myself with the reward of a pedicure and massage, step by sometimes tedious step I eventually got to sign the Summit Book! It wasn't painless and it wasn't easy - and I'm not sure I'd want to do it again - but I did it!
Our Christian walk has a lot of similarities. When God asks us to step up and do something, we often say we can't. "I've never done that before. I'm not trained. I'm not as good as ________. I don't have talent. I can't..." Our excuses may be numerous but what we really mean is that we Won't. We won't step out of our comfort zone. We won't ask God for help. We won't take the steps to learn. We won't reach past our insecurities (pride in another form) to try. We just won't. While Can't means unable to, Won't is a deliberate choice of our will!
God never gives us opportunities that He hasn't chosen for us. Everything He brings is something we will be able to do with His help. It may be something you haven't done before that needs guidance and counsel from others. It may be something different that requires rethinking of old, worn strategies. It may be strengthening or broadening a gift or talent that you already operate in. It may be a brand new challenge! Whatever it is, you can do it. You may have to break the big idea into little pieces and work through bit by bit, like my Mt Whitney experience. Or you may have to just jump in with both feet and let Him refine you as you go along. But don't immediately disqualify yourself. He wouldn't give you the chance if He didn't know that you could succeed- He never sets us up to fail!
Promise yourself that the next time a door opens, instead of immediately responding with "I can't" you will do 3 things:
1) Pray through whether it is God asking you or someone who just needs you to fill a space
2) If it is God, ask Him to give you counsel through His Word or His people on how you should prepare, proceed & progress.
3) Be persistent. All new things take time to learn. You will make mistakes, just count on it! After all,
there's a famous quote that says "Success is just getting up once more than you fall down!" Regroup, evaluate what there is to be learned by the mistake, and try again! Practice doesn't always make perfect, but it does lead to improvement!
Step by step, day by day, your "challenge" will get easier and you may even end up wondering why you were so worried about it in the first place!
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