“It’s not you…it’s him.”

You may have heard this phrase before. It has been coined in book titles and movies, too. The comment follows the age-old “he said, she said” conversation. One takes credit. One gets blame. But this phrase is dismissive. The one-sided conclusion is misrepresented. 

In most human relationships, two people contribute. Two people give. Two people take. Two people work to form and sustain the relationship. As a result, each person wants to take credit for some of the contribution. If we’re not in the right spirit, we can begin to compare, to keep score, and become selfish in the giving and taking. Before we know it, we’re back to the “he said, she said” accusations, and each person wants their due credit and validation. 

Instead, let’s interpret this phrase in a new way; let’s see it with the Lord in the equation.

If we use the analogy of an instrument in the hands of the musician, then we can see the value of the spiritual relationship more clearly. For example, a violinist’s stringed melody can only be heard if he picks up the violin and plays it. The violinist has the knowledge, the talent, and the ability to musically operate the violin to produce sound and music pleasurable to our ears. Yet, without the master musician, a violin is just a stylishly shaped piece of wood that cannot produce anything on its own. 

In our relationship with God, we really are like the instrument. The Lord is the master musician with all the knowledge and ability to use us as He sees fit. And how blessed are we that He chooses to use us; to pick us up, fill us with His Spirit, and allow His light to shine through us that others may be blessed. He sees the value in us, and He takes His empty vessel and uses it for His pleasure. 

But without Him, we are useless. We are void. We are empty. The violin cannot claim the music played through it; it was simply an instrument in the Master’s hands.

“…Yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” (Romans 6:13)

“…I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.” (Alma 29:9)

“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

We can’t be arrogant. We can’t take credit. We’ve done nothing. It’s all God.

So when you’re in that “he said, she said” mode of defending all of your efforts and works, stop and refocus. What are you without the Lord? What have you earned? What have you produced? What have you achieved? What have you accomplished that the Lord God hasn’t allowed by His hand of providence? 

It’s not you. It’s Him.

An excerpt from a classic Andrae Crouch song says this:

…All that I am or ever hope to be,

I owe it all to thee.

To God be the glory…

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.

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