CAN DO

September 11, 2001, a day that America seemed powerless to do anything to prevent the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center and in Washington DC. Powerless that is except for the 37 passengers on board United 93. None of the passengers seemed to have stopped to think about what they couldn’t do. Could they fly the plane and land it safely? Could they save the lives of the crew who had been overtaken by the hijackers? Could they stop the hijackers from killing them in their attempt to overpower them? Instead they focused on what they could do. “Let’s roll” was heard as the passengers did what they could to regain control of the plane. To stop the passenger revolt the hijackers crashed United 93 into a field in rural Pennsylvania just 20 minutes flight time from their target in Washington DC. The passengers did what they could.

Have you ever notice how easy it is to focus on what we cannot do? When we think about what we cannot do we lose sight of what we can do.

• [40] Some women were there, watching from a distance, including Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James the younger and of Joseph), and Salome. [41] They had been followers of Jesus and had cared for him while he was in Galilee. Then they and many other women had come with him to Jerusalem . . . [47] Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where Jesus' body was laid.
  Mark 15:40-41, 47 (NLT)

These women were powerless to do anything to save Jesus life. When you think about it there was a lot they could not do. They could not defend Jesus before the Sanhedrin. They could not plead with Pilate for mercy. They could not raise their voices over the crowd. They could not prevent the Roman soldiers from carrying out the crucifixion. They could not go to Pilate and ask for Jesus’ dead body.

But these women did what they could do. They remained near the cross as Jesus died while the disciples fled in fear. They were with Joseph of Arimathea as Jesus’ body was taken down from the cross and they went with him to the tomb. They prepared spices for Jesus body and went to the tomb before dawn on Sunday morning. Because they did what they could instead of focusing on what they couldn’t, they were blessed to be the first to hear the news of Jesus’ resurrection.

What are you facing today that is greater than you are? What has Jesus asked you to do for Him that you haven’t done yet? Don’t focus on what you cannot do; look instead at what you can do. Christ will not bless good intentions, but He will empower our efforts as we take simple steps of faith to just do what we can. What do you think?