I Can't. God Can. I Trust Him. — Three Declarations That Lead to Freedom

Meta Description: Are you exhausted from fighting the same battle over and over? Pastor Jonathan shares three powerful declarations from Romans 7 that open the door to real freedom. URL Slug: i-cant-god-can-i-trust-him Featured Image: A wide-open horizon with storm clouds on one side and breaking light on the other — capturing the tension between struggle and surrender that anchors this message.

There's a reason the buffalo doesn't run from the storm. It turns into it — because the only way to get through something is to go through it.

That image has been living with me all week. And I think it's exactly where many of us find ourselves right now: staring at a storm we've been running from for far too long.

The Most Relatable Passage in All of Scripture

This past Sunday, I took our church to Romans 7 — and I want to bring you there too, because I believe it may be the most relatable passage in the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.

Here's what Paul writes in verses 18-25:

"For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do — this I keep on doing... What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

Sound familiar? Why do I keep going back? Why do I do the very thing I hate? Why can't I stop?

Whether your struggle is pornography, alcohol, control, people-pleasing, shopping, or the relentless need for others' approval — Paul's words aren't ancient history. They're your Monday morning. They're your 2 a.m.

Declaration One: I Can't

The first step toward freedom is the hardest admission most of us will ever make: I can't do this on my own.

I watched a man nearly drown at the beach once. He was swimming with everything he had against a rip current — not going anywhere, just burning through every ounce of strength he had. My friend Bo and I weren't even sure he needed help at first. It wasn't until that man stopped, looked up, and waved that we knew. And when Bo threw that buoy out, the man grabbed it with everything he had left.

He didn't drown. He just exhausted himself completely trying to get free by himself.

That's a picture of so many of us. You've got three options when you're caught in a current: keep fighting until you're utterly exhausted, give up and be swept away, or raise your hand and yell for help.

The lie of "one last time" keeps us fighting alone. But here's what you need to understand about sin — when it's fed, it grows stronger. One last time is never one last time. It's just the next step toward the next time.

The first step of real recovery — the first declaration — is simply this: I can't.

Declaration Two: God Can

If "I can't" is the hardest thing to say, "God can" is the most hope-filled.

Psalm 103 paints a stunning picture of who this God is:

"Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits — who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's."

He forgives. He heals. He redeems. He crowns. He satisfies. He renews.

And here's the thing — you can't do any of those things for yourself. You can't forgive yourself. You can't heal yourself. You can't redeem yourself. But he can. The same God who raised Jesus from the dead on the third day is powerful enough to free you from the thing you thought would never let you go.

I know that because I've lived it. I've shared openly with our church that my own story includes addiction to pornography — something I once believed would own me for the rest of my life. I had surrendered to it rather than surrendering for help. But when I began seeing people around me find freedom from the very things I felt trapped in, something shifted. I began to believe that freedom was actually possible. And when God shows you that freedom is possible, everything begins to change.

Declaration Three: I Trust Him

Trusting God sounds simple. But do we actually trust him with our struggles — not just our salvation?

Proverbs 3:5-6 says:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."

We are not deists — people who believe God wound up the universe and stepped away. We have a Father we can talk to at any moment. And he is so much better at life than we are. He knows how you can be free, and he genuinely desires it for you.

Sometimes the reason we're not hearing God clearly is because we're not listening when he's already speaking plainly. He's saying stop that — and we're asking him to give us more nuanced direction. Trust begins with obedience to what he's already made clear.

Three Declarations. One Path Forward.

Let me invite you to say these out loud right now:

I can't. God can. I trust him.

That's not weakness. That's the beginning of everything.

One of the most powerful things I witnessed recently was a woman in our church — someone whose eating disorder had nearly destroyed her marriage and her life — finding complete surrender and coming home transformed. She told me she wanted to share her story with the whole church. That's what freedom does. It turns your mess into your message.

If you're in the life of someone who's drowning and doesn't have the strength to raise their hand, I'm asking you to have the courage to sit them down and say: You need help. And I love you enough to say it.

And if that person is you — raise your hand. The buoy is already in the air.

If this message resonated with you, I want to personally invite you to join us on Monday nights at 6:30 p.m. for Regeneration — a step-based recovery ministry where people are finding real freedom every single week. Whatever you're stuck in, you don't have to face it alone. And if you missed Sunday's service, you can watch the full message on our YouTube channel. Share it with someone who needs to hear it this week.

Social Media Excerpt (Facebook/Instagram): Why do we keep doing the very thing we hate? Romans 7 says you're not alone in that fight — and there's a way through. This week's message is about three declarations that open the door to real freedom: I can't. God can. I trust him. Read the full post and share with someone who needs it. 🙏

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