God’s Work Comes in CANS!

by Dr. Jay Wolf

If you believe that you CAN accomplish a goal or if you believe you CANNOT get the job done, you are probably right either way. Much of our ability to accomplish tasks in life depends upon our belief in our ability to get the job done. The truism is accurate: If you believe it, you can achieve it!

I have learned that God’s work comes in CANS. Paul’s guiding statement is located in Philippians 4:13 when he proclaimed with boldness mixed with faith, “I CAN do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” If you believe that God CAN do anything and His Spirit and power resides in you; then it is reasonable to conclude that you CAN faithfully navigate the obstacles and opportunities God assigns to you ranging from success to suffering.

For example, in Numbers 13, we find the story of the 12 spies who made a reconnaissance mission into the Promised Land. Moses had given them the task of surveying the situation and then guiding the children of Israel to conquer this special place that represented God’s banquet of blessing. The spies returned and affirmed that it was a rich and fertile land, but it was filled with GIANTS. 

Numbers 13:33 reflects a spirit of I CANNOT. The 10 spies moaned, “We were as grasshoppers in their sight.” They listened to their doubts and fears, abandoned their faith and entered a “captivity of negativity.” They sowed the attitudinal seeds of I CANNOT and they reaped a bitter harvest of wandering in the wilderness of waste for 38 years.

Here’s the point: Adopt the spirit of “I CAN.” Refuse to be held prisoner in the “captivity of negativity.” Work with the Lord to adjust your vision and attitude so you can stand with Paul the world-changer and faithfully declare, “I CAN do all things through CHRIST who strengthens me!”