You Can Do It

by Olga Hermans

Hi everybody! I am in a group on Facebook which is called “You Can Do It”; it is a Social Media group with Kim Garst. She called it this way, because many of us still think that there are so many things that we can’t do. BUT!!! The truth is that we can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens us, which means that we are anointed to do ALL things that come our way.

I love the way the Message Bible brings it across to us “Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am”. Php 4:13. You need to know that you can do whatever you need to do in life through Christ, which is the anointing on your life. In other words, when you like to discover the life you were born to live, you can handle whatever life hands to you.

People have taken this verse so much out of context that they don’t think about the real meaning any more. It does not mean that I can do anything I want to do, or that I can do anything someone else does. It means that I am able to do whatever God assigns to you and me, because I am gifted that way.

I wonder, do you believe you can do whatever you need to do in life? Or are there certain things that trigger dread, fear, or cause you to say, I could never do that!” when you think about them? Are you facing a serious unexpected illness or maybe a sudden death of a loved one, or maybe you need to go on a strict diet because your life depends on it like my friend Carl? Or maybe you are getting a second job because of a foreclosure or moving to a different country because of your husband’s job. What about if your husband would leave the country because of the army?

Most people have some kind of circumstance that they think is totally impossible for them; something that they aren’t sure of they can handle. But the fact of the matter is, while you might not welcome certain situations in your life or they seem too difficult and too out of reach for you; you need to know that you can do it!! You can do whatever you need to do in life.

God guarantees us the strength for everything we need to do because He Himself empowers us to do it. Let me give you a little secret here; we cannot do anything we want to do because we are strong enough, smart enough, or hard working enough. That’s not it. In fact, it leaves no room at all for our human effort or striving of any kind. The secret to being able to do what we need to do is realizing that we cannot do it alone.

For some reason, we often fail to use our faith to believe and act on that truth. Instead, we think we have to do it all and, forgetting that the power of Christ (the anointing) works through us, we are defeated before we even begin.

So many people say things like, “This is too hard. I just can’t do this. It’s too much for me.” Nothing is too difficult for you if God is leading you to do it. Stir up that passion that is on the inside of you, come out of your comfort zone and make steps to do it. You’ll see that everything will get easier and easier with every step that you take.

For example, I know that God wants me to take care of my body. I need to eat well and I need to do some exercise as well. I am a T-Tapper, but there are days that I don’t want to T-Tapp, I don’t feel like it and I know that my body doesn’t want to do it. So, I need to stir myself up and become as passionate as possible to do those exercises. Everybody who knows Teresa Tapp knows that she ALWAYS says: “YES, YOU CAN!”  whatever it is for you, keep telling yourself “You can do it though Christ who infuses you with strength”. Ampl.

Our attitude towards unpleasant things is a vital part for going through them successfully. God always uses things for our spiritual growth. Another example, He may use a grumpy person to help us become more patient. God did not cause the person to be grumpy, but neither does He remove them from our life when we would ask Him to do that. Instead, He uses them to change us.

Remember, God is always after our heart, our motives for why we want certain things, and the reason why we do certain things. Actually, most of our trials in life are the result of someone else’s failure and ignorance or sin and, of course we pray for God to change them. Our prayers open the door for God to work in that particular situation, but God will never go against the free will of people to answer a prayer.

I like to encourage you today to fill up your heart with faith-filled reasons that you can do what you need to do. Stop looking at all your weaknesses because you can do it in the anointing that has been given to you.

Always remember that apart from Jesus you can do nothing. John 15:5, but in Him you can do it. Phil.4:13

Which “I cannot do that” belief in your life do you need to exchange for an “I can”? That is what The Choice Driven Life is all about!!

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which is a SPIRITUAL Devotion that helps you to make the right choices in your life!

Get A Grip on Your Thought Life

by Olga Hermans

Our thought life can cause us to have certain attitudes without even realizing it. They have an effect on our relationships and they even determine how productive we will be during the day; they have a huge impact on the overall quality of our lives.

What does that tell us? It tells us that we need to come to grips with our thought life. Let’s say, you desire to start your business or maybe you desire to improve your health and you start to think about it and talk about it with your best friends; the moment will come that you will begin to take steps towards it.

Or maybe life is putting you in a place that you least expected and doors swing open for you; doors that you had never expected to be opened for you. But there is that thought that comes up that whenever God asks me to do something new, it is usually something I don’t think I can do and the battle in my mind begins.

I know God always has bigger plans for us than we have for ourselves and I know that He will always back me up and will always be there for me.  It doesn’t matter how much time has passed or what kind of mistakes you have made, the vision God has given you is still in you and it is time to pursue it. If you are willing to pursue your dreams, nothing can keep them from coming to pass!

Success in every aspect of life begins with a thought; so does failure. If you think you cannot do or accomplish something, chances are you will not be able to. That is how much influence your thoughts have over you.

James Allen said: “All that man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts.” The way we think is far more powerful than we often realize and our thoughts impact every aspect of our existence, either positively or negatively.

It feels so real to us what we think, even if it is not true at all. If we think it is true, we respond and act as though it is. Our thoughts are so important that we definitely need to get a grip on them and take charge over them. You and I are the managers of our life and we need to take responsibility; it all starts in our thought life.

We need to make quality choices when we want to discover the life we were born to live, because our thoughts affect our relationships, our self-image, our finances, our health and our productivity in whatever we are doing.

Proverbs 23:7 makes it very clear to us that there is a connection between our thoughts and the rest of our lives. We become what we think. It is very crucial for us to think properly. Thoughts are powerful; they have creative ability. If our thoughts are going to affect what we become (and they will), then we need to get a grip on them and thinking the right thoughts should be a high priority in our lives.

It is so sad that many people believe things that simply are not true. I think we all know people that think they have no worth and value because people have treated them in a way that made them feel worthless and devalued.

I had a sister who fought these thoughts and died two years ago of anorexia; she always compared herself to our older sister and battled to even want to live. Anorexia is a form of slow suicide. It was very, very sad. The Bible makes it very clear that we are valuable to God.

When we have negative thoughts, we end up with negative results. But positive thoughts open the door for God to work in our lives. If we think we are unable to do certain things, we will never do that particular thing even though God’s Word says that we can do anything God asks us to do because of His ability in us. Phil.4:13. Our thoughts are that powerful.

We must all change our thinking before our lives will change. Rom.12:2 God has good plans for us, but we will not experience them if we cling to our old ways of thinking. Our minds must go through a process of renewal in order to experience God’s plan for us.

It is impossible to change our lives unless and until we change our thoughts. Your mind can be a junkyard or a treasure chest, and you alone have the ability to choose what it will be. You can make it one or the other by deciding whether you will think thoughts that are negative, cheap and dirty or thoughts that are uplifting and positive.

You need to get a grip on your thoughts if you sincerely want to be different from how you are now or if you want some aspect of your life to be different. There is no other way to ignite your life with passion and steer it in the right direction.

You alone are in charge of your mind; I believe that with God’s help you will break away from the chains of bondage; you can change your mind, and as you do, you can change your life. God does not control us. He guides us in what is right. Don’t poison your life with wrong thought patterns, but instead take action and you will experience a great improvement in every area of your life. Will you do it; will you make the choice to get a grip on your thought life? Please let me know by leaving a comment; thanks for doing so!

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which is a SPIRITUAL Devotion that helps you to make the right choices in your life!