What Can I Do?
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” - John 15:5
What can I do? What can I accomplish if I set my mind to it? These are probably questions you have asked at some point or another. It could have been as a child when no dream seemed too big—when the world was your playground, and you could do anything you wanted. Maybe your parents told you that if you set your mind to something and worked hard, you could do whatever you wanted or have whatever you wanted.
Maybe it wasn’t a childhood dream, but instead, a recent vision. Maybe you are unsatisfied with your current job or lifestyle. Maybe you have begun thinking of a plan or strategy of how you can have what it is that you want most or do what you want most. Whatever the case may be, we have all heard at one point or another that with hard work and a vision, we can do whatever we want.
The problem with this notion is that what you want might not be what God wants for you. And if you are on that journey alone, it will not end well. Jesus says in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
The last sentence there… “apart from me you can do nothing” is very bold. But that does not make it any less true. See the reality is, no matter how bad you want something or set your mind to it, you truly cannot accomplish anything apart from God.
Whatever it is that you want to do, take it up with God first. Ask Him if that is HIS WILL for your life. And if it is, He will help you. He will lead you, and you can do more with His help and guidance than you ever would have dreamed. Countless times in Scripture God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. But no matter how extraordinary you are, apart from God, you will be disappointed with the outcome. So let God lead you, and then ask “What can I do… with God on my side?”
What can I do? What can I accomplish if I set my mind to it? These are probably questions you have asked at some point or another. It could have been as a child when no dream seemed too big—when the world was your playground, and you could do anything you wanted. Maybe your parents told you that if you set your mind to something and worked hard, you could do whatever you wanted or have whatever you wanted.
Maybe it wasn’t a childhood dream, but instead, a recent vision. Maybe you are unsatisfied with your current job or lifestyle. Maybe you have begun thinking of a plan or strategy of how you can have what it is that you want most or do what you want most. Whatever the case may be, we have all heard at one point or another that with hard work and a vision, we can do whatever we want.
The problem with this notion is that what you want might not be what God wants for you. And if you are on that journey alone, it will not end well. Jesus says in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
The last sentence there… “apart from me you can do nothing” is very bold. But that does not make it any less true. See the reality is, no matter how bad you want something or set your mind to it, you truly cannot accomplish anything apart from God.
Whatever it is that you want to do, take it up with God first. Ask Him if that is HIS WILL for your life. And if it is, He will help you. He will lead you, and you can do more with His help and guidance than you ever would have dreamed. Countless times in Scripture God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. But no matter how extraordinary you are, apart from God, you will be disappointed with the outcome. So let God lead you, and then ask “What can I do… with God on my side?”
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