I Can't Do THAT!

Oh! I can’t do THAT!

This is often my first thought when something that is challenging to me appears to be something I’m supposed to do.

It was the first thing that popped into my head when I read the email about the Compassion Bloggers assignment for this month.  Write about “Which Bible Verse Prompts and Guides You to Serve Others?” I can’t do THAT!

The next thing that came to mind was a verse.  “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind”. 2nd Timothy 1:7 

When I was on a mission trip with my church a number of years ago, the topic of our first morning’s devotion time was “our service to God”.  The speaker said we were there to serve and each task was important, from pounding nails to painting walls.  Because I was the only woman there from our church with a group of men, and I am not what you'd call "highly skilled" in construction (though I can pound nails and paint walls), I was not sure what my contribution on this trip was going to be.  So, for awhile before the trip, I had been praying the Lord would have jobs for me to do those 2 weeks.  

The speaker closed the devotional time with the verse above.  It was still ringing in my ears when he promptly asked me, in front of the group, if I would be willing to do a certain job.  This particular job was NOT something I would have gladly volunteered for!  But I said “yes”.  After all, there was no reason I couldn’t do it, other than I was a wimp!  Because, a wimp is what we are when we let the “spirit of fear” take over.  In 2nd Timothy 1:7, Paul isn’t talking about “phobos” or general fear that has a cause, he says “deilias” which means cowardice.  Yep.... my modern day translation of that is - “wimp”.

Ever since then, I’ve remembered this verse when I think, “I can’t do THAT!”  And then usually the very next verse I start repeating to myself is “I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me”! Philippians 4:13

Funny thing was, the task I was given to do went well and with a little prayer along the way, was accomplished.  Lest you think I am now a “super-woman for Christ”, let me tell you if I divulged the details from the story above, you’d realize I am far from it!  (Although when I told of the incident in front of our church body after we came back - thinking it would encourage other women to go on the trip the next year - I had several women tell me that they couldn’t have done THAT!)  They missed the point about how if I could do it, with the Lord’s help... they could do it!

Since that time, I’ve done my best not to be a “wimp” and to respond when God lays a task on my heart.  That’s why I’m blogging for Compassion to help share the needs, though I’m not a “writer”.   It’s why I went on a Compassion trip to Haiti to see those needs for myself and left a chunk of my heart behind.  It’s because God has given me a spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  Well, I'm not so sure about the sound mind....