Why Can’t I?
I see you over there.
You want to move forward and be free.
You get all pumped up that this is it; the moment has arrived, and you are going to do it this time.
You get all prepped and ready to go.
But then, the voices of unworthiness start their yapping, and you stop.
I hear you mumbling to yourself over there.
Those voices keep pulling you back, telling you that, for some reason, you are not worthy of moving forward and being free.
WHO is telling you that?
Is it the voice of condemnation telling you that with all you have done, you don't deserve a good life?
Is it the voice of low expectations that someone like you could never amount to much?
Is it the voice of terror that if you do try to reach for more and follow God and the dreams he has given you, something awful might happen, and you could fail or get really hurt?
Is it the voice of comparison that tells you that you can't compete with all they have going on?
Is it the voice of apathetic inertia beckoning you to stay put and numb out so you can sit back and not work so hard?
How long, I mean it, how LONG have you been listening to those voices?
Aren't you tired of their incessant mutterings?
I'm only hearing them from a distance and am sick of them already!
You know what I want you to do?
I want you to respond to those voices with an obstinate conviction, like a toddler who was just told they couldn't have a cookie.
I want you to stand up, put your hands on your hips, and scream as loud as you can:
"WHY CAN'T I?"
Because, let me tell you, you can.
God loves you. Jesus saved you and died for all the sins those stupid voices keep talking about over and over again.
They are talking because you are listening.
Yeah, I said it.
Ouch.
ENOUGH!
Talk back to them - tell them to shut up and remind them who and whose you are.
You, my precious friend, are a child of God and are worthy of a wonderful life.
You are worthy, no matter what you did.
You are worthy of the highest of expectations.
You are worthy of trying, failing, getting back up, and succeeding.
You are worthy of activating all the gifts God gave you.
You are worthy of putting in the work and functioning at the highest level of clarity and skill to give it all you got.
You are worthy of a life well lived.
Don't you listen or believe the voices outside or inside that tell you any different for one more stinking minute.
Cuz they are wrong.
Period.
So stick out your tongue like that little sassy toddler I know you can be, stand firm, and tell those voices you aren't listening to their junk anymore.
You are going to choose to listen to God's voice from here on out.
God's voice says that you are loved and precious, worthy of the wonderful life He has planned for you.
Just wait and see what will happen when you listen and believe.
1 Thessalonians 2: 10-12
You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.
Ephesians 4:1
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
Deuteronomy 28:1
Now it shall be, if you diligently listen to and obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all of His commandments which I am commanding you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you pay attention to the voice of the Lord your God.