When I was much younger, my parents would ask me to do something, and I would quickly reply (often as an excuse), especially if I didn’t like what I was asked to do, “I can’t do that.”  My mum quickly replied something along these lines in Dutch (translated), “Can do lives in Church and ‘cannot’ lies next to it!”  

When she replied with that quick message, I often wondered what she meant.  Well, in the Netherlands, people who were alive were in the church and the cemetery was next to the church, so that doesn’t need further explanation. 

I mention this little personal reflection for sometimes when the church leadership ask people to do something in the church, their quick reply is that they ‘cannot’ because they don’t think they have the expertise or they are just too busy. Occasionally that is a legitimate answer for we all have different talents, strengths, and busy-ness, but on some occasions, it is an excuse, an easy cop-out, and I am tempted to say, “Cannot lies next to the church.”

Now on further reflection perhaps my Mum had 2 Cor 12:9-10 in mind when she gave her answer encouraging me to change my thinking. Have you ever considered that what we think we cannot do, could be a key to being useful in service to Christ?  

Yes, there may be others who are more gifted or talented, but they haven’t been asked, you have.  The danger if we keep saying “I cannot” and load even more things to do on people who are more gifted and talented than we are, we run the real risk of causing burn out in such people.  And when that trend to keep saying “I cannot” continues, these more gifted and talented people might become so overwhelmed that they have a physical or even mental breakdown, and then nothing gets done.

I am reminded of the Apostle Paul, a very gifted and capable servant of the Lord. So that Paul wouldn’t become conceited, he was given a thorn in his flesh, ‘a messenger of Satan’ (2 Cor 12:7).   Paul prayed several times to have that thorn removed, because he thought he would be more useful in service to his Saviour without it.  But the Lord replied, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 

The same principle applies for us who may be inclined to say “I cannot” too quickly.  God’s grace is also sufficient for us, and his power is made perfect through our weaknesses. So next time someone taps you on the shoulder to ask you to do something, perhaps instead of saying “I cannot’ too quickly, consider how the Lord may use your weakness to display His power and be a blessing in His kingdom.  JZ