In the business world, many times there seems to be a great gulf between upper management and those who are actually hands-on. For example, I once worked as an RN in a large hospital in Denver, Colorado. Almost every shift we were short-staffed. When our charge nurse called the main office to speak to the supervisor, she always got the same reply, “According to our figures you should have adequate coverage.” Those in administration were figuring our staffing on the basis of a formula, while we were doing the actual patient care and knew that there was a problem. After being an RN for many years, I knew we didn’t have enough nurses to meet the needs of the patients we had on the Med-Surg floor. In philosophy there was a huge gulf between the main office administrators and we who were in the trenches. On the books everything looked great, but in reality it simply didn’t work.

Do you feel the same way as a Christian? Is what you are told, and the ideas and suggestions you have given supposed to work, but down on the ground level it simply isn’t happening? If you do feel this way, dont’ be discouraged. You are not a failure; you are growing and maturing as a Christian, just as God expects you to. Be encouraged! You see, most of us, after we have found Christ and accepted Him as our personal Savior, try in our own strength to live the Christian Life.

So what happens? We fail. We try, but we fail.

We try to love our wives as we should but we fail.
We try to be that patient, understanding dad with our kids, but we fail.
We try to be more patient at work, but the harder we try, the more impatient we become.

What’s wrong? Nothing. God is working. Simply in his way He is showing us that we can’t pull it off. Only Jesus can. One of Billy Graham’s quotes from the past is, “The Christian life is not difficult, its impossible. There’s only one man that can live the Christian life and that is Jesus Himself.” The difficult task is trying to explain this to another brother or sister in the Lord. Unless he or she has tried and failed they won’t know what you are talking about. They’ll listen and then look at you like you’ve come from outer space. No comprendo! Someone who has struggled in the water to the point of giving up and then is miraculously saved by a lifeguard has had an experience, which only he understands.

Paul in Galatians 2:20 spoke of the "crucified life." Paul realized that his self-life was already dead, but by the Spirit of God, Christ was living in him. He knew he couldn’t pull it off but Christ could. In Romans chapter seven we see that Paul tried to live the Christian life in his own strength. It just didn’t work. As hard as he tried not to covet, the more he coveted.

If you think you can live the Christian life in your own strength well I guess just keep trying. It’s not much fun. Take it from me. Sooner or later you will come to the end of your rope. Jacob wrestled with God; he lost. Not a good idea to fight with God, but he did. The result was that he limped for the rest of his life. But, sorry to say, some of us Christians go on struggling in our own strength for years -- even in ministry. We press on, determined not to give in or give up.

Of course, we ask the Lord to help us but kind of like the cyclist who’s riding in front on a tandem bicycle with the Lord riding as a passenger in the back. He wants the Lord's encouragement and direction, but at the same time wants to be in control. He’s not willing to take the passenger seat. What about you? Are you tired of trying and failing? If you are, try praying these words to the Lord:

Lord Jesus, I thank-you for cleansing me from my sins by your blood. But you know I’ve tried and tried and tried and failed and failed and failed. I need more than a good ethic that is supposed to work. I confess that I cannot live the Christian life in my own strength. I give up. I simply can’t do it. I thank you Jesus that you are living in me by Your Spirit. Now, Lord live your life through me. I’m tired. Let me know what it means to abide and rest in you. I just simply want to be the branch that draws life from the Vine. As John 15:5 says, “I am the vine and ye are the branches; he that abideth in me and I in Him bringeth forth much fruit for without me, ye can do nothing.” Thank you, Lord, for what you can and are going to do through me. Lord you’ll get the glory for everything, because I know it won’t be me. Thank you, Thankyou, Thank you, Lord.