Powerful Thinking

MINDSET 1

Because I am in Christ

I Can Do Everything I Need to Do in Life

Do you believe you can do whatever you need to do in life? Or are there certain situations that trigger dread or fear or cause you to say, “I could never do that!” Almost everyone can think of some circumstance that truly seems impossible, something they aren’t sure they can handle.

The fact is, while some situations may be undesirable or difficult for you, through Christ you can do whatever you need to do in life. I know this because God’s Word says that we have the strength to do all things because Christ empowers us to do so (Phil. 4:13). He doesn’t say all things will be easy for us, and He doesn’t promise we will enjoy every little thing we do, but we can enjoy life in the midst of every situation we face. In Him, we have the strength to do everything we need to do because He Himself empowers us and gives us the sufficiency we need.

WITH GOD’S HELP

Philippians 4:13 does not say we can do anything we want to do because we are strong enough, smart enough, or diligent enough. We can do what we need to do, meaning anything God wants us to do, but not just anything we decide we want to do. The key to being able to do what we need to do is realizing that we cannot do it alone; we can only do it in Christ. For some reason, we often think we have to do whatever we need to do through our human strength and abilities. We tend to forget that the power of Christ works through us, so we are defeated before we even begin. We are partners with God; we cannot do His part and He will not do our part. He will guide and help us in all we need to do, but He wants us to respond to His direction and leading, relying completely on Him every step of the way.

You may be tempted at times to think, This is too hard. I just can’t do this. It’s too much for me. But as a believer in Jesus Christ, you are full of God’s Spirit, and nothing is too difficult for you if God is leading you to do it. He will not call you to do anything that He will not enable and empower you to do.

Difficult situations arise in everyone’s life, and although God never authors our troubles, He does use them for our spiritual growth. Our attitude toward life’s difficulties is actually more important than the challenges themselves, and it is a vital part of getting through them successfully. If you will develop an increasingly positive, faith-filled attitude, you will find that your trials are not as bad as you think and that, in fact, they can be steppingstones to your greatest victories.

God has given you the gifts, talents, abilities, and grace you need to do His will. God’s grace is His power at work on your behalf. He will not only give you grace, but He promises grace and more grace (James 4:6). He never runs out of power—and that power is available to you through Christ. If you don’t think thoughts that affirm and remind you that God’s power is working through you, the enemy can defeat you with thoughts of inadequacy. But if you make up your mind that you can do what you need to do, you’ll find yourself able to do it—not in your own strength, but in the strength that God gives you.

THINK POWERFULLY, SPEAK POWERFULLY

Jesus says, “The mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Luke 6:45). We can learn a lot about ourselves by listening to what we say. Let me ask you: Do your thoughts and words reflect your complete dependence on God, realizing that His abilities—not your own—empower you to do anything you need to do in life? At times, I have had to examine my own thoughts and words and ask myself if I portrayed a person who had faith in God, and I encourage you to do the same. I didn’t like all of my answers, but the exercise in self-examination did open my eyes to see that I needed to make some changes. Realizing we are wrong in an area is never a problem. The problem comes when we refuse to face truth and make the changes God is leading us to make. As you ask yourself whether or not you come across as a person of great faith in God, I encourage you to be willing to face anything He wants to show you and ask Him to change you. If you are trusting in your own strength, begin to trust Him instead. If you are becoming frustrated trying to do things out of your own human abilities, tell God you want Him to work through you, and let His sufficiency be your sufficiency.

When challenges arise, I encourage you to develop a habit of saying immediately, “I can do whatever I need to do through Christ, who is my strength.” Words are containers for power, and speaking words that agree with God’s Word will help you do what God wants you to do. Don’t fill your containers (words) with things that disable you but with things that enable you.

As you meditate on this truth that through Christ you can do whatever you need to do, you will find that you are not as easily overwhelmed by situations that once discouraged you. Each time you roll that thought over in your mind or speak it, you are developing a healthy mindset that empowers you to be victorious in any situation.

NO MORE EXCUSES

One reason many people do not enjoy their lives, miss out on some of the blessings God wants to give them, or feel bad about themselves is that they do not truly believe they can do whatever they need to do, so they quit when they meet challenges. They never taste the joy of a goal accomplished or a desire fulfilled because they do not press past the difficulties that arise.

Everyone has their go-to excuses. When something hard or undesirable happens and challenges us or gives us more than we want to deal with, we think or say:

Many of these thoughts are based on emotions (the way you feel about a situation). Let me encourage you not to think or speak out of your emotions; how you feel does not always agree with God’s Word. That is why it is important to realize that even though you feel overwhelmed, you should still say, “Because I am in Christ, I can do everything I need to do in life.”

I hope you will begin right now to stop looking at all your weaknesses and insufficiencies, allowing them to tell you what you can and cannot do, because God’s strength is made perfect in your weakness (2 Cor. 12:9). Through human weakness and inability, He displays His strength. He deliberately chooses people who absolutely cannot do what He is asking them to do unless they allow Him to do it through them. With God, you don’t need ability; you simply need availability and a can-do attitude.

If you will exchange “I can’t” excuses for “I can” thoughts and begin to say, “I can do whatever I need to do in life because God strengthens me. I am strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, and whatever He asks me to do, I can do,” remarkable changes will begin to happen and you will have more zeal and enthusiasm as you face each day.

YOU’RE MORE THAN A CONQUEROR

Romans 8:37 teaches us how to think about the challenges we face: “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

I believe that being “more than a conqueror” means having such confidence in God that no matter what we face, we know that through Him we can overcome it. We know before we ever encounter a problem that we will gain victory over it. We believe that, with His help, we can do whatever we need to do. Therefore, we don’t dread anything; we don’t fear the unknown; we don’t live in anxiety about what will happen in any situation. It doesn’t really matter what the challenge is; we know we can handle it through Christ. Defeat is not an option.

Thinking about negative circumstances too long will empower those circumstances to overwhelm us. No wonder the Bible says we should look away from things that distract us and instead fix our eyes on Jesus, who is “the Leader and the Source of our faith” and who brings our faith to maturity (Hebrews 12:2 AMPC). We need to remember at all times that He is the one who empowers us to do all things, and look to Him regularly throughout each day.

If you will begin to think every day, I can handle whatever life hands me. I can do whatever I need to do in life. I am more than a conqueror. I am equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me, even before you get out of bed in the mornings—just let it roll over and over in your mind—your confidence will skyrocket, and you will find that indeed, in Him, you can do whatever you need to do in life.