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Girlfriends in God - Oct. 6, 2009

October 6, 2009 
The Cure for I Can't-itis 
Sharon Jaynes

Today's Truth 
"I can do everything through him (Jesus) who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13 NIV).

Friend to Friend 
Yesterday, we looked at a man who had a bad case of the "I Can't-itis.  Today, let's look at a young man who knew the cure.  His name was David.

It is during Saul's reign in Israel when we meet this young shepherd boy named David. The Israelites were at war with a powerful warrior-people known as the Philistines. The two warring factions camped on opposing hillsides with a valley in between.  It seemed the Philistines had a secret weapon named Goliath.  Goliath was over nine-feet tall, wore a bronze helmet and a coat of scale armor of bronze.

For forty days, morning and evening, this nine-foot giant of a man approached the battle lines and shouted at the Israelites, taunting and challenging them to a one-man duel.  God's chosen people were terrified and huddled together in fear. 

One day, David's father instructed him to take some lunch over to three of his brothers who were huddling among the Israelite army.  I can almost see him skipping happily along without a care in the world.  He heard the war cries, left the provisions at the camp, and ran out to the battle lines to see what all the commotion was about.  Just as he approached, Goliath came forward and shouted his usual defiant challenge.  While the soldiers turned and ran, David stood there in a cloud of dust and asked: "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?" (1 Samuel 17:26).  In other words, "What's the big deal?"

This young shepherd boy confidently declared, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.  The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistines" (1 Samuel 32, 37).

Oh, I love it!  I love it!  David refused Saul's heavy cumbersome armor.  Wearing someone else's armor would allow them to get part of the glory and David wanted it perfectly clear that the victory would be God's alone.  He gathered five smooth stones, stood as tall and erect as his teenage lanky legs could stand, and confidently shouted at the towering enemy. 

"You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.  This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head.  Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.  All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's and he will give all of you into our hands."

As Goliath began to move closer, David charged his enemy, placed a smooth stone in his sling, and took perfect aim.  The stone sunk into Goliath's forehead and he fell, face down on the ground.  Can't you just see the stunned Israelites, the shocked Philistines, and the smiling angels as little David stood over the giant with his foot pressed against the armor clad-chest?

I'm about to start shouting right now!  Go ahead!  Give a shout for the home team!

Now this is what I want us to see.  Yesterday we looked at Moses, a man who cowered when God called him into leadership. He said, "I can't."

David was a boy who took the bull by the horns, or rather the giant by the head, when faced with God's enemy. He was a boy who said, "God can." What made the difference?  Moses looked at his own abilities and said, "I can't.  I don't have what it takes."  David looked at the almighty God and said, "God can.  He has what it takes."

No matter what you are facing today.  No matter what giants are standing in your path, if God gives you the vision, He will give you the provision.  He may not call the equipped, but He always equips the called.  You have what it takes.  God has given you the power of the Holy Spirit.  That same power transformed Peter from a coward who denied he even knew Jesus after his arrest, into a commando who spoke out with confidence and passion after Jesus' ascension.

Satan wants us to believe that we don't have what it takes.  God's truth is that we have everything we need.  The power of the Holy Spirit has been given to us, is living in us, and working through us.  But here's the key. That power is for us who believe (Ephesians 1:18-20). The power is available, but we must believe to receive.

Satan tells me "I can't."

God tells me, "He already has."

The only obstacle keeping us from doing all that God has called us to do and being all that God has called us to be is our unbelief.  Jesus said, "All things are possible to those who believe."  .

If God has called you to it, He will see you through it. The truth is: "I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength!"

Let's Pray 
Dear LORD, there are many giants in my life and I confess that I have let them scare me from time to time.  But today, I am standing with David in confident courage. The same God who empowered David empowers me.  Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit who gives me all the power I need to live in victory.

In Jesus' Name, 
Amen.

Now It's Your Turn 
When is the last time you had a case of "I Can't-itis?"

Yesterday?  This morning? 

Now, picture yourself with David and write your own rendition of 1 Samuel 17:26 and 37.

I'd love to see what you wrote!  If you'd like to share, just log onto www.sharonjaynes.com/blog and go the comment section of today's devotion.

More From The Girlfriends 
Today's devotion was adapted from Sharon's book, I'm Not Good Enough…and Other Lies Women Tell Themselves.  If you've been listening to the lies of the enemy who tells you that you are "not good enough" it's time to stop!  Let's start believing God's truth that says you are a chosen, holy, cleansed, forgiven, empowered child of the King.

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