I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:13, NAS

"I know that one", you might be thinking, "It's one of my favorite verses!" And most of us do know this verse, and for many of us it is one of our favorites. But do we really believe it? Do we really believe that we can do anything through Christ?

How many times have we set out to do something that was truly noble and worthwhile? Maybe it was giving up smoking or perhaps it was losing a little weight. Or maybe we wanted to "clean up" our language. Maybe instead of giving up a bad habit, we wanted to acquire a good habit such as reading the Bible more or actually attending the worship on the first day of the week. But whatever the thing was that we wanted to do in order to make our lives better, we just failed in the doing of it. Because of these failures, we might have questioned the accuracy of the verse above: Is it really possible to do all things through Christ who strengthens us, or is it just a nice thought?

What's more, why is it that some people seem to accomplish the very things that we were hoping for, while we are left to pick up the pieces of another failed attempt to better ourselves? Does God love them more? Is He playing favorites and giving help only to those He secretly prefers? The answer to all of these questions is contained in the passage above!

Now some might dispute this. They might say that they have tried hard to accomplish something worthy of God's children, but that God simply didn't do His part. But this, of course, is untrue. God will always fulfil His side of the bargain, so if we are failing, we need look no farther than our own mirrors if we really want a clear picture of the one who is to blame. God has never told us that we could do all things; instead, He has told us we can do all things through Him (Jesus) who strengthens us. If we are looking for three wishes, then we need to be hoping we will find that fictional bottle that contains that magical genie. However, if we are genuinely seeking to do things that are of good purpose because they are God's will, then we have a useful beginning.

So, the first thing is to remember that the promise to do all things is connected to the entreaty that we do these things through Christ. Now, this doesn't mean that we cannot accomplish some worldly and sinful things on our own, but we must not associate God with our endeavors nor their outcomes.

The second thing to remember in this passage is that a decision is required. We cannot go through life just hoping that God will do things for us. Once we determine that something is truly worthy of our efforts in accomplishing - worthy enough to get God's help with - then we must decide to do it. This word "decide" is key. The addict can wish all they want to be drug and alcohol free, but until they decide to do what it takes to reach this goal, it will remain a wispy wish with little chance of success. It is the one who saves up his money, purchases a site upon which to build, and who acquires the blueprints to guide them that is the one who is most likely to build their dream home as opposed to the one who merely wishes that they will someday live in the home of their dreams. 

And, it is the one who actually decides to do something who will is most likely to succeed, not the one who just "wants" something really, really bad. 

So, to drive the point home, consider this: If we want to give up smoking or drinking, and we want the Lord's help in doing so, then we are going to have to decide to do it! If we want to give up bad language, we will need that same, firm commitment to do so. If we want to start reading the Bible on a daily basis, we must decide to do so and then pick up our Bibles and begin today. If we want to get up on Sunday morning to go to church, we are going to have to decide on Saturday night that we are going - no ifs. ands or buts.

You see, we really can do everything that God wants us to if we will decide to do them and humbly seek His help. Great things are not merely reserved for "great" men and women. they are reserved for those who will honestly commit their lives to God and who will then decide to do whatever it takes to accomplish them. No half measures nor wispy dreams will do. We must decide, and then we must commit that decision to God!

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

Proverbs 16:3, NIV