Trusting God Day by Day: 365 Daily Devotions (32 page)

As you meditate over and over on the thought,
I can do whatever I need to do in life through Christ
, you will find that you are not as easily overwhelmed by situations that arise. Each time you roll that thought over in your mind or speak it, you are developing a healthy mind-set that enables you to be victorious.

T
his Scripture says God supplies us with encouragement. Encouragement says,
“You can do it!”
But perhaps you have heard the words
“You can’t”
repeatedly throughout your life. Many people are good at telling
us what we cannot do. Other people may not be against us, and may even have good intentions, but they’re not so sure we can do it, either.

Parents, teachers, coaches, friends, family members, and leaders of church groups or social activities often fail to realize the power of their words over young lives. Many children and teenagers grow up thinking,
I can’t
, when that isn’t true at all! No matter how many times you have heard someone say to you,
“You can’t,”
I want to say to you,
“Oh, yes, you can!”
I believe miracles come in “cans”—our belief that we
can
do whatever we need to do through Christ Who is our strength.

I believe in you; God believes in you; and it’s time for you to believe in yourself. Today is a new day! Put the past and all of its negative, discouraging comments behind you. Negative words and words that speak of failure come from the enemy, not from God. So decide right now to not allow the power of
“you can’t”
to influence you anymore.

God tells you to have courage, so always remember if you feel “discouraged,” that is from the enemy and if you feel “encouraged,” that is from God. Choose to agree with God and say to yourself,
“I can!”
And let the power of your positive thoughts and words outweigh the power of the negative words anyone else has ever spoken to you.

H
ave you ever walked into a store before with something to exchange? Maybe it was an article of clothing that you decided you didn’t like, a pair of shoes that were uncomfortable, or a gadget that didn’t do what you’d expected. You entered the store with something that didn’t work for you, exchanged it, and left with something that did work for you. You had to trade what was not effective for something that was.

The same principle applies to your thinking. If you exchange your “I can’t” thoughts for “I can” thoughts, you will see remarkable changes begin to happen. If you build into your character the thought that, with God’s help, you can do whatever you need to do in life, you will have more zeal and enthusiasm about facing every day. I have found that I even have more physical energy when I think “I can” thoughts. It helps me to not dread anything, because dread is an energy drainer.

It’s never too late to begin saying, “I can.” Say things like:
“My marriage has problems, but it can work”
;
“My house is a mess, but I can clean it so it will bring me joy and relaxation when I come home from work”
;
“I can get out of debt”
;
“I will own a home or have a new car”
; or,
“I have some problems right now, but I can still enjoy my life.”

Some of the challenges you face may be very difficult ones; however, God never allows more to come on us than we can bear. With every temptation, He always provides a way out. I challenge and encourage you right now to consistently believe you are able to do anything that comes your way, with God’s help.

E
veryone faces challenges in life. Some people are completely overwhelmed by their challenges, whereas others refuse to give up. My question to you is: Do you want to be able to meet all challenges head-on and overcome them? If so, then get mentally prepared for whatever comes.

According to Colossians 3:2, the way to be prepared is to “set your mind and keep it set.” Don’t be caught off guard and unprepared. Repeatedly thinking and saying
“I can do whatever I need to do in life through Christ”
will help you set your mind and keep it set in that direction, and it will set you up to win in life. Remember, where the mind goes, the man follows!

Do not allow yourself to think thoughts such as,
I just cannot take any more trouble!
Or,
If one more thing happens, I am going to go over the edge!
Or,
If things don’t change soon—I am giving up!
There are many varieties of this kind of thinking—and you may have a favorite thought or saying of this type that you use when you feel overwhelmed. But do you realize these thinking patterns actually prepare you to be defeated before you even encounter the problem?

There is nothing strong, powerful, enabling, or victorious in thinking you will
“go over the edge”
or deciding to quit. Those are losing attitudes, not winning attitudes. Don’t say things like
“I feel like I am losing my mind,”
or
“This is going to kill me.”
Instead you can say,
“I have the mind of Christ,”
and
“This trial is going to work out for my good.”

Be a person who is mentally prepared for any challenge that crosses your path, and do not allow yourself to be easily discouraged and defeated. Always remember that apart from Jesus you can do nothing
(see John 15:5), but in Him you can do whatever you need to do in life (see Phil. 4:13).

O
ne of the reasons many people do not enjoy life, miss out on some of the blessings God wants to give them, or feel badly about themselves is that they do not finish what they start. They never taste the joy of accomplishing a goal or fulfilling a desire because they do not press past the challenges that arise. Most of us wouldn’t say,
“I’m a quitter,”
so we make excuses or we blame the failure on someone or something else.

Every single one of us has an “excuse bag.” It’s a little invisible accessory we carry around with us all the time. Then, when something difficult comes along that challenges us or gives us more than we want to deal with, we pull out an excuse like this:

• “That is just too hard.”
  
• “I don’t have enough time.”
  
• “I hadn’t planned on this today.”
  
• “I have too many personal problems and too much going on in my life right now.”
  
• “I have never done this. I don’t even know anybody who’s ever done this.”
  
• “I don’t have anyone to help me.”
  

I urge you today to throw away your excuse bag! Don’t be limited by your excuses. Trade them for a confident attitude that says,
“I
can
do what God’s called me to.”
Whenever you feel like reaching for an excuse, instead say,
“I
can
do this.”

Stop looking at all your weaknesses, because His strength is made perfect in our weakness. It is through our weakness that God shows His strength. God actually chooses people on purpose who absolutely cannot do what He is asking them to do unless they allow Him to do it through them. You don’t need ability; you need to be available to God and a “can-do” attitude.

A
friend of mine lives in a large city where homelessness is a huge problem. One winter night she was coming home from work and
walked by a man asking for money. It was cold and dark, she’d put in a long day, and she was anxious to get home. Not wanting to pull out her wallet in a less-than-safe situation, she reached deep into her purse fishing for change.

As her fingers searched in vain, the man started telling her that his coat had been stolen in the homeless shelter where he’d stayed the night before and described a few other troubles he was having. Still trying to come up with a couple of quarters, she nodded at the right times and said
“that’s too bad”
now and then. When she finally found the money, she dropped it into the man’s cup. He smiled and said,
“Thank you for talking with me.”

My friend says she realized that night that the $.50 she gave him was appreciated, but what meant the most to the man was the fact that someone had heard what he said and responded.

There is a team of people who try to help individuals living in the tunnels under the downtown bridge in St. Louis. They have found that each of these people had a life prior to the tunnels and they all have a story. Something tragic happened to them that resulted in them being in their present circumstances. They appreciate the sandwiches and the rides to church where they can shower and get clean clothes, but mostly they appreciate someone caring enough to actually talk with them long enough to find out who they are and what has happened to them.

Let me encourage you to do everything you can to help others. If they simply need you to be there, then take time to do so. Ask God what He wants you to do—and He will answer your prayer so you can do it.

J
esus made this statement after His death and resurrection, prior to His ascension into heaven. There were many things He could have taught His disciples, but He chose to talk about peace. This fact alone reminds me of how important peace is.

Some people don’t have peace with God because they are not born again and still need to trust Jesus Christ as their Savior. But even some Christians still lack consistent peace because they simply have not responded to the leading of the Holy Spirit and have been led astray through prolonged disobedience, bad habits, and constant worry. Perhaps they prayed for something and it didn’t happen. Perhaps somebody else got what they wanted. Perhaps somebody they loved died, and they don’t understand why.

Sometimes we make ourselves unhappy because we don’t
trust
enough. We always want God to change our circumstance, but He’s more interested in changing
us
than He is our situation. A lot of people have faith to ask God for deliverance
from
something, but they don’t have enough faith to take them
through
anything. Job said, “Even though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (see Job 13:15).

There are many, many reasons why people don’t trust God, but in order to enjoy peace, we must learn to trust Him in all things. I know it’s not always easy, but we can do it. We must trust that God is totally and completely just, which means He always makes wrong things right if we continue to lean on Him. God is perfect; He never does anything wrong. He’s worthy of our trust.