I Can Do Nothing

"For without me ye can do nothing." — John 15:5

What Long Obedience Teaches

Here is what one servant of God reported after years of hard warfare:

"The longer I walk with the Lord, the more I realize my total helplessness. I am nothing. I can do nothing. Anything that is accomplished is done by the Lord, and by Him only."

Notice the direction of travel. Not the longer I serve, the more capable I become. The opposite.

That is the standard trajectory of genuine spiritual maturity, and it is worth knowing in advance, because it feels like going backwards.

The Position of a Servant

The rest of that statement lays out the terms of the relationship exactly:

"I cannot command God. I am His servant. I am only a channel for Him to use as He wants. It is my privilege to be used, but I cannot decide when, how, or where God will use me."

"I cannot fight any battle unless my Captain commands me to. If I go into any battle without the specific command of my Captain, I am sure to lose."

That last sentence is the entire principle of authority in this study, compressed.

"I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." (John 15:5)

Not very little. Nothing.

The Church's Great Rebellion

If anything marks the Christian church of today, it is rebellion against one simple fact: God is God.

People run frantically from ministry to ministry, preacher to preacher, hunting for prayer styles, formulas of belief, claims of faith, positive confessions — anything that will force God to do what they want, when they want it done.

And the question asked most often, nearly everywhere, is some version of: "How can I have victory so that my finances or my health will improve?"

Very few are willing to consider that they might be suffering because of their stand for the Lord. Fewer still are willing to accept any suffering at all.

The Truest Test of a Servant

Here is a test worth applying to yourself, and it is a searching one:

Can you be quiet and accept that the Lord does not want to use you in a particular situation?

How many are willing to step back and support another brother or sister ministering instead of themselves?

How many of God's servants push ahead on their own thinking and strength, assuming that of course the Lord intends to use them in every situation they happen to find themselves in?

We can do nothing ahead of the Lord or apart from Him. We must wait until our Captain tells us to move.

Point to Ponder

The longer you walk with God, the less capable you will feel. That is not decline. That is the trajectory.

Verse to Remember

"I am the vine, ye are the branches... for without me ye can do nothing." — John 15:5

Question to Consider

When did I last step back and let someone else be used instead of me?

Today's Practice

Test yourself honestly on the servant's test.

Think of a recent situation where you assumed you should be the one to act, speak, lead, or fix it. Did you ask whether God was sending you — or did you assume it because you were present and capable?

Then this week, deliberately practice the harder discipline:

Find one situation where you would normally step in, and do not. Instead, pray silently, and support whoever else is being used.

Watch what rises in you when you do it. Most of us discover something about our motives that we would rather not have learned — and that discovery is the point of the exercise.

Then pray: "Father, I can do nothing without You. Teach me to wait for my Captain's command rather than assuming I have one."

Prayer

Father, I have assumed for years that because I was present and able, I was sent.

I have pushed ahead in my own thinking and my own strength and called it faith. I have fought battles You never assigned me and then wondered why I came home wounded.

I am nothing. I can do nothing. Anything ever accomplished through me was done by You.

Teach me to wait for orders. Give me the humility to be quiet when You are using someone else, and the honesty to notice what rises in me when I am not the one being used.

You are God. I am Your servant. That order does not reverse, however long I serve or however much I learn.

Without You I can do nothing. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

"If I go into any battle without the specific command of my Captain, I am sure to lose."