Developing a Can-Do Attitude in a Can’t-Do World by Richard Roberts

Could you use a little attitude help today? I know there are days when I can use that kind of help…because it’s not always easy to have a “can-do” attitude in the world we live in. There are plenty of reasons why our attitudes can get down and depressed. But even if we’re surrounded with a “can’t-do” atmosphere, I believe God is still looking for someone who will say, “I can!” The apostle Paul was God’s original can-do man. In fact, he went so far as to say, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13 NKJV).

Notice that Paul didn’t say that he could do all things in his own strength. He made it very clear that he was dependent on God to help him do what he couldn’t do in his own humanness. Even when he was thrown into jail because of his faith, Paul wrote encouraging can-do letters to the churches he had established. How could he write those letters while he was in such dire conditions? Richard Roberts believe He could do it because he had learned three simple things that helped him have a can-do attitude.

I Think I Can!

The first thing Paul had learned was to think the right thoughts. If we want to have a can-do attitude, I believe we have to think right. Do you remember the children‘s story about the little train that was trying to make it up the mountain? The only way the little train could make any progress was by telling himself, “I think I can…I think I can….” And that’s and example of right thinking, isn’t it? Proverbs 23:7 NKJV says, As [a person] thinks in his heart, so is he. It’s true a person often becomes whatever he or she continually thinks about. And life’s battles aren’t always won by the strongest man or woman…but I believe victory often goes to the one who thinks, I can!

I Believe I Can!

If you want to have a can-do attitude, it’s essential to believe the right things. You may be thinking, Well, Richard Roberts, I have a little trouble with the believing part. I understand how you feel. But if we want to become victors rather than victims in life, we have to: Believe we were created in God’s own image. Believe we were created for success. Believe we were born for such a time as this. Believe what God says about you and me. God says you’re worth the price He paid when He sent His Son, Jesus, to the Cross to die for your sins. He says in Psalm 139:14 that you are fearfully and wonderfully made. God made you, and He created you for greatness. Decide today that you’re going to believe what God says about you!

I Say I Can!

So many people underestimate the power of the words they speak. But Proverbs 18:21 tells us that the power of life and death is in the tongue. And isn’t it true that a lot of the trouble we get into is caused by the words we speak out of our own mouths? If we want to have a can-do attitude, we need to speak the right words. Too many of us say, “I can’t make it,” or “I can’t take it.” If you’re having trouble thinking of something good to say, you can start with the Bible. You can begin to say by faith what God’s Word says about you. “If God is for me, who can be against me” (Romans 8:19), and “No weapon formed against me shall prosper” (Isaiah 54:17). I believe that when we begin to think right, believe right, and speak right, we can be lifted up above our past, above our fears, above the can’t-do atmosphere of this world. And with a can-do attitude, the whole world can be opened up to you!