Blow Out "I Can't"

The LORD your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.

~ Zephaniah 3:17 NKJV

The other day, I woke up with the song “I Need You More” in my head. It wasn’t until my almost 4-year-old yelled from her bedroom, “Mommy, I peed on my bed and got poopy on the door,” that I heard the song in context. Savannah is a very strong-willed child but she has her very sweet moments of complete obedience for us, as well as others. Throughout the day, we had times of calm and fun, but also times of struggle and testing.

That night, I went running before dinner. During my run, God said, “It’s time to blow-out the ‘I-cants’. It’s time to take on ‘I can’ as your crown of victory.” The things I can’t do have been mounting: I can’t get her to listen to me. I can’t get her potty-trained. I can’t, I can’t, I can’t… And truly, I can’t make her do anything. But I can sit her in my lap, giving her my full attention, and teach her God’s Word. I can encourage her to deposit His Word in her heart. I can pray that God’s Word will minister to her, grooming her for greatness. I can believe what scripture says, “As we teach our children about Father God and His Word, it will stimulate, penetrate, teach and be impressed diligently upon their hearts and minds. Our girls will put their confidence in God and not forget His words, but keep His commands…they won’t be stubborn nor will they be a generation whose hearts are not loyal or faithful to God. They will be an example and set a pattern for the believers in speech, conduct, love, faith and moral purity,” (Deuteronomy 6:7, Psalm 78:6-8, 1 Timothy 4:12).

Running, opened me up to my Father, allowing Him to quiet me with His love. If you’re struggling with what you can't in your life, it’s time to blow them out and put on your crown of victory, remembering we can through Christ!

©Heather Potts 2016

He Understands

LORD, you understand; remember me and care for me. ~ Jeremiah 15:15 NIV

When I read today’s verse, Holy Spirit whispered, “Jesus does understand.” Like many other families, we’ve been under enemy fire. Sometimes the attacks come in little things like when Savannah’s strong-willed streak appears and she pees in front of the toilet instead of in it. But sometimes it’s the bigger things like when we have exactly enough diapers to get Elizabeth through church and then we will be completely out of diapers and without money to buy more. Or when there’s more month than there is food in the house. And just to add insult to injury, the enemy comes and steals sleep night after night after night.

But every time I come into my Daddy’s presence and cry, “I am so tired! I need Your help to get me through today,” that’s when Jesus says, “I know. I’ve been there.” Until this season, I’ve never understood 2 Corinthians 12:10, “For when I am weak then I am strong,” (NIV). When I humble my heart, enter His presence, and ask for His help, He binds His strength and power with my faith and I am able to persevere by His power alone. It’s been through those times that I become strong and stronger still. Persevere is the Greek word hypomonē which is “the characteristic of a man who is unswerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith…even by the greatest trials and sufferings,” (blueletterbible.org).

It’s impossible to do anything by our own strength and power. But when we invite God’s power to be infused with our own, there is nothing God can’t or won’t do through us.

©Heather Potts 2016