Having A Positive "Can Do" Attitude
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
“I am in a bad mood. Don’t bother me.” “I am unhappy about that.” “I am not happy with life.”
“Life sucks!” “Why do they get all the breaks, and I get none?” “Life is not fair!”
Our attitude affects everything in our lives
Many people believe that our attitudes are dependent upon the “breaks” we get or don’t get in life. Some believe that our outer circumstances determine our inner attitudes. Others still want to believe that their attitudes are based on people around them and their attitudes. Some people determine their attitudes based on how they are treated “fairly”, “right”, or “unjustly.” Allowing others to control your attitude simply means that you are choosing to give up your right to control your attitude, and if you give up that right, you no longer are in control of you. Either you are in charge of your attitude or you are a victim of your own circumstances. Here in Philippians 4:13 Paul states, “I can do all things.” He has a positive, “I am in charge of me” attitude. While he goes on to state that Christ is the source of his strength to accomplish his goals, nevertheless, he shows that he is the one in control of submitting himself to Christ. “I can do” is exactly the attitude that God is looking for to perform His will in and through.
Our attitude impacts our paths in life
Choosing a positive attitude or state of mind will lead you down the right paths in life. God has many “right” or “best” paths for you to take in life. Being defeated mentally or viewing yourself as a victim keeps you from those paths. When a person is defeated and negative on the inside, they tend to view themselves as reactionary and pessimistic.
Our attitude drives every decision in our lives
Instead of having a positive “I can do” attitude, the prophet Jonah’s attitude tended towards negativity and critical, defeated thinking of himself and others. God told him to go to Ninevah and warn the people that if they didn’t change then He would judge them. Jonah did not go initially. He believed God should judge those people and he was not going to be the reason they were showed mercy. He went the opposite direction. He was negative towards God, the Ninevites, and himself. He fled. He hid. He slept. God sent a wind, great waves, and a whale after Jonah to straighten him out and correct his thinking. Jonah decided to go to Ninevah. He went. He preached. They repented. Then Jonah went and sat outside the city and sulked. He sat in the hot sun and was scorched. He didn’t just get a tan, he was burned. God kindly brought up a gourd overnight to provide shade for Jonah and the next day a worm ate the leaves. Jonah was still the negative person he had been at the beginning of the story and God doesn’t commend Jonah. In fact, the book of Jonah ends with God asking Jonah if He shouldn’t spare thousands of people from judgment and Jonah never says, “Yes.” Negative, negative, negative is Jonah. You might say, “Yes, but Jonah obeyed God!” Delayed obedience is disobedience. The book of Jonah would have read differently had Jonah been positive from the beginning and not negative. As a preacher used by God, Jonah was responsible for a great revival (possibly the greatest ever in history), yet as a person he was more concerned with a plant than the souls of those people.
How do I become a positive “Can Do” person?
Turn off the news.
*It’s mainly negative.
Start to write your own story.
*Be the one in charge of your day. Get with God about His will for you that day. Then do it.
Choose to control your attitude.
*Don’t be reactionary. Everyone faces difficulties and challenges. Be in charge of your attitude no matter what.
Look for the Positive.
*Do you see the bees or the honey?
Be the most Positive, forward thinking/speaking person in the room.
*Instead of saying, “That’s impossible!” say, “I am sure I can figure out how to get it done!”
