I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me
Philippians 4.3
Belief in God and in your own abilities is the bedrock of all personal victory and happiness. ...seeing yourself through the eyes of God. Saint Paul says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
James Allen in his landmark book, As A Man Thinketh, laid a solid background to all human success and victory – our mentality. “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”1 Your own thinking is what determines your overall victory or defeat.
Since it was first published in 1952, The Power of Positive thinking by Norman Vincent Peale has continued to be an inspirational best seller. To reveal the demonstration of the power of faith it promotes, the book has helped millions of people find a workable method to achieve happiness and success. It expertly teaches positive thinking not as means to fame and riches, but as a practical way to use faith to overcome defeat and achieve worthwhile goals. You can get the eBook online.
Dr. Norman admonished; “To anyone looking for happiness and success, I say to you; believe in yourself. Have faith in your own abilities. Any fact facing us is not as important as our attitude toward it, for that determines our success or failure. You are not what you think you are, but what you think, you are.”
An aspect of the Bible every Believer must appreciate and constantly engage is the transformational impact of the Word of God on our mentality and individual self-worth. The truth is, every promise of the scripture is an eye opener to our God-given innate possibilities. The Bible says, “Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature …” 2
It is thinking in line with scriptures that imbues you with victory mentality. When you believe the Word’s description of your person, an overcomer’s mentality comes alive in you. As once asserted by David Oyedepo, “until your thought lines up with the truth, your triumph is not in view.” Forget about people’s opinions of you, your own perspective of who you are is what determines your success. Besides, expose yourself to positive inspirational messages. As observed by Oliver Wendell Holmes, “Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.”
Les Brown, the eminent American motivational speaker often speaks about his dramatic turnaround when, for a long time as a school boy was mistakenly labeled EMR -Educably Mentally Retarded and nobody thought he would amount to anything in life.
But one day, an intervention came to him through a positive-minded man who disregarded all Les’ self-limiting belief & excuses with the following graphic statement painted before him; “someone’s opinion of you does not have to become your own reality.” That statement altered his mentality forthwith.
Remember, Life is warfare but the dynamics of that battle is captured in 2Cor 10.3-5. Really, life is warfare but our mind is the battlefield or the war front. Unfortunately, many believers are still careless on the battlefield, which is their mind. This is the main message promoted by Joyce Meyer, that great Bible Teacher in her book, The Battlefield of the Mind.
Capture your victory first in the mind because you are more than conqueror in Christ. That is why personal transformation begins with mental renewal, -a change of perspective. The Bible says, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think (Rom 12.2 NLT).
As highlighted above, the legendary American industrialist and Founder of Ford Motors, Henry Ford once said that, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.” The implication of his assertion is obvious; every victory or defeat is rooted in your thinking. Victory mentality therefore has its source in “I CAN DO” spirit.
No matter the task or obstacle before you, if your mind can capture the possibility of victory, you are a winner because all your God-given latent possibilities will be graciously expressed.
In a book I read recently, the story was told of how an elderly schoolteacher transformed the destinies of some pupils forever, when she made a very profound statement before the class of supposedly average students. Here is her glowing, highly motivational declaration which became her perennial motto; Your I CAN is more important than your I.Q. What a statement!
Work on your mind, beloved. The greatest victory is not winning against people or problems, but winning against self. I CAN DO IT. Would you say that to yourself repeatedly today?
In His book, The Spirit of Leadership, Myles Munroe explains two leadership concepts; Leadership spirit & the Spirit of leadership. Leadership spirit refers to your inborn abilities, God’s gifts, passion, and other advantages you have in life. Conversely, Spirit of leadership represents the mentality; your perception of who you are.
He said that, “it is not ability; it is mentality that makes a leader out of any one”. So, what you think about yourself is more important than what you do. You do have the abilities, but your mentality must measure up to your abilities before you can manifest victory.
No one can live beyond the limits of his belief. All of our abilities to achieve notable victory may still be buried under our lack of belief that we can do it. You do have potentials, but if you don’t have the belief, your potentials will soon become a victim of your present belief.
You see, it does not matter how gifted and intelligent you are, or how many degrees you have, it’s your mind that keeps you small. And it does not matter how disadvantaged you may think you are, it’s your mind that makes you victorious.
Using the imagery of lion here is highly symbolic. The supremacy of a lion in the jungle is not a function of his physique, intelligence, size or power, because there are other animals in the jungle that beat these attributes. Lion’s authority is rooted in his thinking -what he believes and thinks about himself. And he acts the way he thinks. He radiates such a dominion mentality that makes even an elephant, the largest of all animals, run for cover.
The twelve leaders of Israel were sent to spy on Canaan, their Promised Land. Despite God’s promise and power ahead of them, their thinking sold them out to defeat. They had a grasshopper’s mentality. … We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them (Num 13.33 NIV). Their defeat is not physical, because there was no confrontation yet. It's purely psychological. Thank God for Joshua & Caleb who possessed victory mindset ...we are able!
#The secret to anyone rising is what happens in his mentality, which is the product of his belief system.
As your work this word into your life today, the word will work for you in Jesus name. Thank you.
James Adekoje
For The Bible Motivator.
1. Prov 23.7
2. 2Pet 1.4
