I Can Do This.

I can do this. These four little words are something that I have to tell myself all the time. These past few months have been the best that I’ve had in a while (praise God), but dark days still make their way into my life. For two whole months, I didn’t need to fake anything. I was happy. Everything was okay. However, the Enemy doesn’t want us to have happiness or joy in our lives. The beginning of John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy,” He sees when I am finding my joy in Christ and he begins to whisper lies in my ear. He makes it hard for me to even get out of bed in the morning because of anxiety or sadness. He tries his hardest to steal my joy, and sometimes I let him. Sometimes I stay in bed so that I don’t have to face the world. Sometimes I hide in my room so that I don’t have to share my sadness with anyone. When I do these things, the enemy is breaking me down, and it is when I get into this place that I start to believe his lies.

You’re not good enough.

                        You will never be worth anything.

                                                            No one will ever love you.

            There is something wrong with you.

You can’t do this.

These lies warp my view of who I really am. However, my God brings clarity to my dark places, and he can show me who I am in him. The things that I don’t think I can do, he can. On those days when I don’t think I can get out of bed, I repeat to myself that I can do this. Not because I know I can, but because I need to know that with God I can. Sometimes I have to force myself to believe it. When I feel like retreating into isolation and the devil turns up the volume, I try to drown out his lies with those words on repeat. I can do this.

The end of John 10:10 says, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” Even though the enemy is after us, Jesus came to bring us LIFE. Not just a mediocre life, but an ABUNDANT life. On my own, I can’t live the abundant life that God wants me to have. On my own, I fall for the lies and the temptations of the world. With God, I can live a life full of his promises. Life is still going to be difficult sometimes, but with God I can do this.

I can do this.

I can do this.

I can do this.