Can You? Will You?

“I’m pretty little, but I’ll try,” said one little girl who had a hard job to do. She had seen a broken rail on the train track near her house and knew that a train was coming soon. Quickly she called the stationhouse, but the train had already passed by. If it wasn’t stopped soon there would be a wreck! “Can you stop it?” asked the man at the station. She was little, but she was willing to try. Out she ran to wave her apron at the oncoming train, and the engineer was able to stop just in time. The little girl was able to do the big job because she was willing. She could have said “I can’t, I’m too little”—and the train would have crashed.

Many times there is something we don’t like to do, something that seems too hard or too big for us. It may be that the room needs to be cleaned or you have some lesson to learn in school. Do you say, “I can’t, ’cause I’m too little?” or “That’s too hard for me,” or “I’ve tried that before; I can’t do it.” But have you really tried?

When you say “I can’t,” what are you really saying? “I don’t want to—I won’t.” It is really a choice you are making each time, a choice of what you want to do. “I can’t be happy.” Do you want to be happy? “I can’t get that for you.” Do you want to be helpful? “I can’t write nicely. I can’t draw that—it’s too hard.” Do you want to do your best? How about changing every “I can’t” to “I will!”?

There are many things we can’t do by ourselves, but there is a promise that says, “My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”* (Philippians 4:19) If you have a willing heart, God can help you. Think of all His riches and glory! He is so big and great that we can’t even imagine it, so He surely can do everything. And He wants to help us. Do you want Him to? When you pray, “Lord, help me obey and be good today,” He will help you always obey and be good, if you have a willing heart. Jesus can give you that willing heart if you don’t have one. He stands ready to help and hear you, but you must really want it first.

Do you have ears and eyes? Use them for Jesus. Instead of saying, “I didn’t hear you, Mommy,” learn to listen. If you have a willing heart to help, you will see the toys to pick up and the floor to sweep, and you can be a blessing. You can if you really want to. Don’t let “I can’t” come and play. Say, “I can—Jesus will help me,” and just see how many things you can really do!