“The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.” (John 5:7)
The issue for us is never whether we can do something, it is always whether we are willing. Jesus said to the impotent man: “Wilt thou be made whole?” (John 5:8) Of course, the man saw his problem as going beyond his willingness – he simply could not make his way into the pool of Siloam by himself. But Jesus was not interested in his excuse. Why? Because it was not getting into the water that was going to make the man whole. “Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked …” (John 5:8,9)
When the Lord calls us to do something He is not looking at our power or might to do it. It is “not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Zech. 4:6) The Lord will challenge us with the impossible. He will call us to do what we know we can’t do. His question to us is never, “Are you able?” It is always, “Are you willing?” He knows what we are capable of. He says: “Without me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5) But He also knows what He is capable of? “With God all things are possible.” (Mt. 19:26)