It Couldn’t Be Done
Devotional for Monday, January 11, 2021
Greetings today! After the events of last week and the ongoing challenges, fears, and drudgery of the coronavirus, many people begin to feel helpless and hopeless, as if nothing can or will ever change. I understand that sentiment. However, I think we may forget that the God we worship is the God who walks with us in the trenches and who promises to aid us in our journey toward wholeness. The Bible is fairly clear in advising us to never give up, often reminding us the “Nothing is impossible with God.”
The poem below, written by Edgar Guest, a Michigander, is one of my favorites. I hope it speaks to you today about living with optimism, even when things seem to be going south.
“It Couldn’t Be Done,” by Edgar Guest
Somebody said that it couldn’t be done,
But, he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.
Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;
At least no one has done it”;
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.
There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle it in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That “couldn’t be done,” and you’ll do it!
Prayer: Wonderful God, please give us the eyes of faith and trust to believe things can always improve, and that we can be the catalyst for change. Give us the courage to try those things that others say “Can’t be done.” Amen.