I Just Can't Make It Without You

“For I know that good itself does not dwell in me,

that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good,

but I cannot carry it out.”

--Romans 7:18 (NIV)

Tim was studying for his chemistry exam; he was in medical school. He needed to pass it in order to begin his residency, but Tim hadn’t been doing so well and he knew that his wife and kids were counting on him to pass. Chemistry was a struggle for Tim and even though he had a tutor, he just couldn’t grasp the material completely in time for his final exam. Tim brought a cheat sheet in with him to the exam “just in case.” When Tim hit problem 10, he lost it, he didn’t want to pull the cheat sheet out, but he did. He passed his test, no one else was the wiser, but Tim knew and deep down he just didn’t feel like he deserved it, in fact he knew he really couldn’t make it.

Tim like most of us want to do what’s right, but deep down inside, if we’re honest, we’ll know that we just can’t make it without the only One who can. That’s right, Tim couldn’t make it on his own in medical school, that’s why he resorted to cheating. How about us? Are there things in our lives that we try and do on our own, thinking we can make if we just try harder, love harder, or work harder? If we take time to think about it, there probably are things that we’ve been trying to do, like Tim, without God. Maybe it’s not school, but it could be a career, a ministry, a relationship, finances, or even our health. As a result we find ourselves falling short. Why?

Well God’s word remains ever true, here in the book of Romans, we’re reminded that good just doesn’t dwell inside of us. That means no matter how good of a person we think we are, bad thoughts just naturally surface, because that’s our nature, as we were born into sin. Even with the best of intentions, man on his own, just cannot do what is good. But what does that mean? Does it mean that we can never do any good? No! It just means that when we do good, despite popular belief, it’s not because we actually carried it out, but it’s because God gave us the power to see it through. In other words having the desire to good just isn’t enough, we also need the power of God to carry it out.

Tim cheated because He didn’t establish a relationship with God where he depended upon Him and not on himself. Likewise we too will fall short of doing what is expected of us if we do not look to the hills from whence cometh our help, which is in the Lord! When we begin to rely more on God and not on our own ability to “make it” then we will begin to see the promises of God fulfilled in our lives. God is not looking for independent men and women, but He’s looking for men and women who don’t mind depending on Him to see them through.

Today let us realize that no matter how good our intentions are, we just weren’t built to live a life without God, without Christ, and without the Holy Spirit guiding our paths. Let it resonate in our hearts today that we just can’t make it without Him!