I put my daughters through a mini bootcamp recently. I let my three-year-old Nadia hang from the pull-up bar, and I told her to try pulling herself up. After a couple of attempts that left her swinging, she cried out, “I can’t.” Same thing happened with my six-year-old daughter Bella who couldn’t get that pull-up.
Do you know Jesus put his disciples in a similar situation? Ok, not with pull-ups. Jesus had been preaching for about 4 hours (and you thought you’ve heard long sermons). And the disciples approach him I believe trying to get him to wrap it up. And they said, “Jesus dismiss the crowd because... well, they need to eat.” (Clever excuse) And you know what Jesus said to them? Something they probably weren’t expecting, he said, “You feed them.” Now the Bible records there were 5000 men, besides women and children (Matthew 14:21). So it is estimated the crowd that needed to be fed may have included between 15,000 - 25,000 people.
And their response? “We can’t!” To feed this crowd was an impossibility. They didn’t have the time to get the food or the resources to buy the food. Now why would Jesus put them in this position?
Well, has this ever happened to you? Have you ever been put in a situation where you are forced to declare, “I can’t.” Maybe it’s an emotional situation you don’t know how to work through. Maybe it’s a financial situation where the resources don’t meet the need. And we may at times turn to God and say, “If you thought I was strong enough to handle this, you were wrong. I can’t!”
And it’s in the vulnerability of those situations where I believe God wants to teach us something. To learn that when we can’t, he can.
That’s what I taught my daughters on the pull-up bar. When the cried, “I can’t,” I helped them so they could learn with me they could. That’s what Jesus taught his disciples. When they cried, “we can’t,” he showed up to feed 15,000 plus with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish - all so they could learn he can.
If you’re in a position today saying, “I can’t” I believe you have a learning opportunity if you look to Jesus. To learn he can. To learn he is always faithful. To learn of his love. To learn he does show up. Maybe not in the ways or in the time frame we might expect, but he is there and he will help us.
And this lesson is a beautiful picture of how we’re saved. We’re saved by coming to him and saying, “I can’t. I can’t be good enough. I can’t make myself right with you.” And it is then we have the opportunity to learn he can. That’s why he comes to earth at Christmas to do what we couldn’t and live perfectly. That’s why he gave his life on the cross to pay for our sins and die our death. That’s why through something only he could do, the resurrection, he has sealed our salvation. May God in love teach you that when you can’t, he can.