Moving From "I Can't" to "I Won't" to "I Did It!"
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
Because in a humorous way, it illustrates some rather important spiritual truths: When confronted with a difficult or even life-threatening situation, many people will at first withdraw into their shells and say - "I can't do anything about it!" That shell might be overeating, which gives you a warm, comfortable, full feeling. Or it might be smoking or drinking - taking in addictive substances that temporarily make you feel relaxed, or sexual addictions, or other harmful habits that in the end can disable or kill you. Then the person says - "I'm not doing anything wrong!" (confusing what's legal with what's immoral) or "I'm not ready to stop yet!" (I'll die with a cigarette in my mouth) or "I can't stop!" - they're hooked. They refuse to change because they're convinced they can't... but actually...
...what they're thinking deep down inside, perhaps even subconsciously, is "I won't!" They prefer that pleasant feeling rather than facing the plain fact that they're harming or killing themselves by their habits. The word "won't" is a shortened form of "will not" - in other words, deep down inside they're saying to themselves - "I flat-out will not, I do not want to change! I refuse!" This is very much like the people in the book of Revelation -
"The rest of mankind, who were not killed with these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they would not worship demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood; which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk. They did not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their sexual immorality, nor of their thefts" (Rev. 9:20-21).
Also, "People were scorched with great heat, and people blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues. They did not repent and give Him glory. The fifth poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was darkened. They gnawed their tongues because of the pain, and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores. They did not repent of their works" (Rev. 16:9-11).
To repent is not merely to feel sorry for your wrong actions, like - "I'm sorry I got caught!" No, repentance means change, conversion, turning around, doing a 180-degree about-face and going in the opposite direction, away from those harmful, sinful behaviors.
In two places in the Gospels, Mark 10:46-52 and Luke 18:35-43, we read how, when Jesus was going through Jericho, He encountered a blind beggar who called out - "Jesus, you son of David, have mercy on me!" This man recognized his problem and called out to the "son of David" - the Messiah, the Son of God: "Help me!" Then Jesus ordered that the blind man be brought to Him.
"When he had come near, Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do?' He said, 'Lord, that I may see again.' Jesus said to him, 'Receive your sight. Your faith has healed you.' Immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. All the people, when they saw it, praised God" (Luke 18:40b-43).
I can imagine Jesus looking deep into the blind man's heart: "What do you really want? Do you just want to keep on begging? Or do you really want to see again?" Then the blind beggar answered - "Lord, I really do want to see again! I want to be healed!" Jesus recognized this man's faith in his desire to be healed, so He said - "Receive your sight. Your faith has healed you."
Do you really want to be healed, cured of that gluttony habit, that smoking habit, that alcoholic drinking habit, that sexual addiction habit? Or are you too fond of the pleasureful feelings those harmful, sinful habits provide? Are you saying in your heart - "I won't stop!" or are you saying - "I want to change! How do I do it? I'll try to do it!" The Lord Jesus Christ can and will heal you, but only if you are willing to call out to Him - "Lord, have mercy on me!" - to change and give it a try.
Change is hard. Old habits are like ruts in a dirt road: it takes a mighty turn of the steering wheel and holding on tight to break out of the ruts. But change is possible. It takes 6-8 weeks to fully replace an old, bad habit with a new, good habit. Never say - "I just can't do it!" You can... if you will! Just say - "Lord, have mercy on me and heal me!" ...and really mean it, with all your heart.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! Christ is among us! He is and ever shall be!
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