Although I don’t remember where I first heard “He’s Able” by Darwin Hobbs, I do remember the impact it had on me. To this day, it is a song I really connect with.
Part of the song is about getting to the place where you feel like you just want to give up on God and throw in the towel. On many occasions, I have felt like I didn’t want to do this “Christian” thing anymore. I felt like giving up. This Christian journey is tiring… It is taxing… It takes a lot out of you.
This Christian journey can be tiring and taxing. It takes a lot out of you.
When I heard “He’s Able” I was part of a Bible study group. It was well-intentioned – just a group of young people and a few older folks who wanted to study and learn more about the Bible on a regular basis. However, over time it became more about who was the “best” Christian. It became about this prophecy and that prophecy. Who could interpret things the best, who understood things the most, and who was living according to their understanding of the prophecies. It was very works-based. You should wear this, you shouldn’t wear that… you should eat this, you shouldn’t eat that… you should listen to this, you shouldn’t listen to that. If you did the right thing and followed the group norms, you would get a checkmark or the group’s approval. No one said that, but that’s what I experienced. That’s how the devil works, I guess…
I didn’t feel like myself, I didn’t feel authentic.
During this time, I didn’t feel like myself – I didn’t feel authentic. I would sit in church during praise and worship and fight against what I naturally wanted to do – rock, sing, and be in the music. I would sit there in my long skirt (which is not me) and pretend that I did not approve of what was going on because of what we were studying in the group.
After a while, I got tired of fighting against myself. I was so frustrated with the whole thing. I thought to myself, “I don’t want any part of this, I don’t want any part of God… I’m tired of this, this is foolishness… How do I even know this is real!” I forgot about all my amazing testimonies of what God has done in my life. At that point, I was mad at everything and anything to do with God. I’d had enough!
Over time, my husband and I distanced ourselves and stopped being part of that Bible study group. We started being ourselves again – which was great. Hearing “He’s able” just reminds me that I shouldn’t give up on God because He never gives up on me. For me, that’s the significance of the song. It’s a reminder that when I feel like giving up on God on this journey, on this walk – I shouldn’t!
J
Ontario, Canada