“I CAN’T” is a very common phrase we either say or hear every day. I personally know of some people who use this phrase more often than they want or should. In fact some people use it so often that you can almost predict their response even before you ask them to do something. Many years ago I read a small chapter by Charles Swindoll entitled: Can’t …or Won’t? which inspired me to write this article on excuses. Very often when someone uses the phrase “I Can’t” they actually mean one of the following responses: 1. They are not comfortable doing it, 2. They do not like doing it, 3. They are not confident in doing it, 4. they are afraid of failure and its possible consequences. Very rarely people use the phrase “I Can’t” because they have actually tried and failed. It is often our feeling that we will fail that keep us from trying and failing.
If someone says “I can’t” because they have tried several times and are fully aware of their ability and strengths, it is a legitimate conclusion, but in reality most people judge their ability by their psychological feelings and fears. What we feel about ourselves often limits our ability to try, achieve or accomplish things in life. We are not designed or created with the ability to do everything in life or accomplish all great achievements, but I strongly believe that as Christians we should always think twice before we say “I can’t”. Every time a Christian uses the phrase I can’t we are not just reflecting our feelings or understanding of our ability, but we are also reflecting our belief in God’s ability to strengthen us or empower us in accomplishing a particular task.
What we feel about ourselves often limits our ability to try, achieve or accomplish things in life.
Notice these common excuses we hear every day: I can’t find time to pray, I can’t quit smoking, I can’t quit gossiping, I can’t stop overeating, I can’t get along with…, I can’t give up…etc. Steve Pavlina in his article “feeble excuses” writes “Excuses are lies we tell ourselves to avoid dealing with unpleasant truths. But as long as we buy into those excuses, we can never move past them. Instead of addressing the underlying problem, we merely hide the symptoms. One of the most important steps in personal growth is to uproot excuse-making and confront the real issues behind the excuses with consciousness and courage.” I am not talking about positive thinking where people believe in themselves and in the power of their positive thoughts, I am talking about biblical mindset where we believe in the power of God to help us overcome these seeming impossibilities.
“Excuses are lies we tell ourselves to avoid dealing with unpleasant truths.” – Steve Pavlina
The Bible is full of examples of people who made excuses when God wanted them to do something. Moses made several excuses when God asked him to go to Egypt and deliver his people (Ex chapters 3-5), Jonah not only looked for an excuse, in fact he even tried to run away from this God given responsibility because he was convinced the wicked Ninevites won’t change. Jesus told a story of a few men who made excuses (say good bye to my family, bury my father…etc) in Luke 9: 57 ff and Peter tried to excuse himself from going to the gentiles. In most of these cases their judgment was based on their feelings that laid a psychological barrier they were afraid to cross. But God empowered Moses to be the instrument of Israel ’s deliverance, used Jonah in Nineveh ’s transformation and enabled Peter to reach out and minister to the gentile world. They thought they can’t but God said You can…through me.
Rodger Constandse wrote a powerful illustration from his life demonstrating the power of psychological barriers. Rodger visited San Diego Zoo where the guide told them that gazelles can easily jump more than 30 feet length. However, they were shocked that the gazelles in the Zoo were in a wide open exhibit, no cages, no bars, all that was standing between the gazelles and freedom was a small ditch and a small concrete fence less than 4 feet tall. The guide explained that the gazelles clearly had the ability to escape, but none ever did because researchers found an established psychological barrier. It turns out that the gazelles never jump that high unless they are running for their lives, and they will only jump when they know for sure where they are going to land.
The concrete fence in the exhibit, while not very tall, was high enough to prevent the gazelles from seeing where they were going to land; the result is that they never jump and try to escape! The gazelle will never experience freedom because it cannot overcome its psychological barriers. Just like these gazelles many of us are stuck with our psychological barriers that limit our ability and our perspective of what we can do. The next time you are tempted to say “I can’t”, hold your tongue and remember the words of the Apostle Paul “I can do all things through him who gives me strength” (Phil 4:13). May be you can’t, but God can, so let him do his work in you.
Just like these gazelles many of us are stuck with our psychological barriers that limit our ability and our perspective of what we can do.
– – Author: Rev. Francis Burgula – –
