“I Can Do It Myself”
Marlys Roos, Guest Writer
Today’s Treasure
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
When I was about three years old, there was a TV commercial with a little girl not much older than I was. The product it was selling is long forgotten, but I can still hear the girl’s voice chiming, “I can do it myself.” It became my motto as I climbed onto cabinets, chairs, or even books to retrieve things out of reach and pulled out all my shoelaces so I wouldn’t need anyone to tie them. My family laughed that I was “just like the little girl on TV.”
Then, one day it wasn’t so funny. After a year or so of “doing it myself,” I decided to surprise my mother and set the picnic table for our July 4th cookout while she was inside the house. With feet wet from running through the sprinkler, I climbed onto the picnic table bench, took hold of the tablecloth, and snapped it out to cover the table. The next thing I remember I was lying face down under the table as my mother bent over me. Doing it myself—as well intentioned as it was—cost me a broken collarbone and years of orthodontics and dental work.
Perhaps Eve was well-intentioned as she thought about the snake’s offer. If she could be like God, she and Adam could know things for themselves without bothering the LORD God. That would be a good thing, wouldn’t it? When He showed up, God could enjoy the company of equals, too. So, wouldn’t God be surprised and pleased?
We know Eve and Adam had their own faceplant moment when they realized their nakedness and tried to hide from God (Gen. 3:8-11). As usual, Satan had taken God’s good gift and twisted it to confuse his target. God had given the first couple freedom in the Garden as long as they kept the one rule (Gen. 1:16-17). Keeping that rule signified their trust and confidence in the Creator, acknowledging He would always know and do what was right for them and all creation.
Breaking that rule—seeking independence from God—broke not only their but also our relationship with Him. We can make this independence sound good, but real freedom always comes with dependence or confidence in something or someone we trust. Satan convinced them that God was not trustworthy.
As illogical as it sounds that the Creator of the universe who gave life to all is not trustworthy, it’s how we all—at least since the Fall—live. Satan gave our first parents a false hope in self. But God, like my mother, found them after they fell. And, unlike my mother, He knew where to look and already had His plan of rescue (Gen. 3:15).
LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT
Even on this side of the cross as those who know God loves us so much that He sacrificed His only Son to save us (John 3:16), we still struggle daily to trust Him. We still fear and worry and look elsewhere, whether to ourselves, to others, or to things for hope. Instead, when we start to fear and doubt (and I’m talking to myself more than anyone else), let’s drown out the serpent’s voice with singing. “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness . . .”1
PRAYER
Our good and trustworthy Father, forgive us for believing and following the lies that we must rely on ourselves or anything else other than on You alone. May we abide in You and Your Word, resting in the confidence that we can do nothing apart from You. Amen.
1 Edward Mote, “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less,” in the Trinity Hymnal (Suwanee, GA: Great Commission Publications, 2021), 521, 522.
More free resources for help, hope, and healing:
Anchored Hope Biblical Counseling – Biblically grounded, clinically informed virtual counseling. We offer convenient and confidential virtual counseling with theologically educated and professionally trained counselors.
About the Author: Marlys Roos is publications coordinator for the PCA’s Committee on Discipleship Ministries. She, her husband, and son live in Atlanta and are members of Perimeter Church.
For more from Daily Treasure please visit MARKINC.ORG.
Originally published Monday, 19 August 2024.
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