Try Not... Do

Last night we watched “Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back” with our kids and a particular scene deeply impacted me. 


Luke is training to be a Jedi with Master Yoda in the murky, swamps of the planet Dagobah. He is in an impressive handstand with Yoda balanced on his feet attempting to use the force to move stones when out of the corner of his eye he notices his ship quickly sinking into the dark waters. Luke loses his concentration. The stones and Yoda fall bluntly to the ground. You can scroll down to watch the clip at the bottom or just read the dialogue here...

LUKE: “Oh, no!  We’ll never get it (the ship) out now!”

YODA: “So certain are you.” “Always with you what cannot be done.” “Do you nothing that I say.”

LUKE: “Master, moving stones around is one thing, this is totally different!”

YODA: “NO! No different, only different in your mind!” “You must unlearn what you have learned.”

LUKE: “Alright, I’ll give it a try.”

YODA: “NO!” “Try Not.” “Do or do not.”

So, Luke gives it a try and fails. He says, “I can’t do it, it’s too big!” Yoda scolds him, “Size matters not!” He goes on to discuss in depth that the force is his ally and its energy is felt all around him and a very frustrated Luke claims, “You want the impossible!” 


Of course Yoda uses the force to lift the ship out and move it to solid ground.  Luke responds, “I don’t believe it,” and the scene comes to an end when Yoda profoundly tells him, “That is why you fail.”

So, why the “Star Wars” recap on a Monday?

Because, I relate. I go off attempting to fix my problems in my own strength and I fail. I give up. Call it quits and claim that it's impossible. I have that very same conversation above, not with Yoda of course, but with God over my own challenges. 


How about you? Are you facing circumstances in your life that require change in you that right now looks  hopeless? 

I want to encourage us that while we don’t have “the force” to change our circumstances we do have FAITH in an Almighty and all-powerful God.

We have real reason to believe that with God we will experience victory!

Jesus tells us…

“Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.  I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.” Mark 11:22-25 (NLT)

Like Luke, we must “unlearn what we have learned.” The lies that we have believed for so  long only bring us defeat and have kept us trapped by our circumstances. We cannot look at the size of our mess to determine our outcome. Size matters not to us because of Him!


We have to take what we can’t do to the One who can do. 

He is our greatest ally.

So, I invite you to join me in putting on a fresh attitude today:
Try Not... Do. 

May the Faith be with you!