Yes, I Can!: Facing Life's Challenges with a Winning Attitude

By Shawn F. Knight

Yes, I Can!” takes you on a journey that helps you discover the keys to obtaining and maintaining a winning attitude that is distinguishable by faith in an unchanging God who can’t fail. In the pages of this book, you will learn how to readjust your focus and stop blaming and start trusting God. You will also discover that your circumstances don’t define you, and you were born to overcome the most difficult challenges in life. As you read, I hope you will feel empowered, inspired, and equipped to take the necessary steps to achieve your greatest desires and goals. Please enjoy this expedition of faith and self-discovery.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9781458335845

Book preview

Don’t Take It Personal

You don’t have to live life for very long to find out that life is not always fair. Both the good and the bad experiences are a part of life. Personally, I don’t know anyone who hasn’t had to deal with the challenges that life brings.

Life and people can be cruel, causing us to struggle with feelings of rejection, isolation, and abandonment. This can lead to years of self-destructive behavior or self-loathing, making us believe that we are inadequate. Even the most devoted Christian can take the adversities of life so personally that it becomes difficult to function.

If we are not careful, we exchange our faith for mental assent. This occurs when we mentally agree that God is good, and He is for us, but we stop believing in our hearts that He is truly faithful to His Word. At some point, we took what happened personally. I want to offer you some godly counsel. Don’t take it personal!

God’s wisdom is still present even in life’s most challenging circumstances. First Peter 5:8 tells us to be vigilant because our enemy is seeking whom he may devour. But we are to resist him, knowing that we are not the only ones under attack. Others are being similarly challenged in their lives too. Our challenges can be a stumbling block or stepping-stone. The difference is in how we choose to see it.

Without struggle, there is no progress.

—Fredrick Douglas

Life can be difficult at times, and it can be hard not to internalize what happens to us. Paul tells us in the Book of 1 Timothy 6:12, "Fight the good fight of faith." First, this verse tells us that we have a fight to overcome. Secondly, the verse reveals that the fight of faith is a good fight. A good fight is one that we win, but it is still a fight.

Power concedes nothing without pressure. If we are going to overcome life’s challenges, we must learn to accept the good and the bad without succumbing to the pressure.

Ecclesiastes 7:14 (NKJV)

14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, But in the day of adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, So that man can find out nothing that will come after him.

Most of us are willing to accept the good in life. However, if we are self-centered and focused on adversity, we may not be willing to consider that God’s wisdom can be seen in the struggle. Some of the challenges in our lives have been appointed by God. Just like He appoints the good, He also appoints the bad.

When I say, Don’t take it personal, I am using the phrase metaphorically. To clarify, don’t try to make sense of all of life’s questions. Instead, try to keep an open mind and accept that God has a plan even in the adversities of life.

The Book of Ecclesiastes is part of what is commonly referred to as the wisdom books of the Bible. Also included are the Book of Proverbs and the Book of Job. Ecclesiastes is written to show us how meaningless life is when we live separated from God and His wisdom. The writer of Ecclesiastes uses the word meaningless thirty-eight times. For example, Chapter One begins with the declaration:

Ecclesiastes 1:1 (NIV)

1 Meaningless! Meaningless! says the Teacher. Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.

The Hebrew word is hevel and also means breath, vapor, or smoke. This definition provides a clear picture, telling us that a life without God is like a breath, vapor, or smoke. It’s an enigma. Its meaning is elusive. So, when life happens, and we try to search for meaning apart from God, it is like trying to grasp smoke.

Where Proverbs is practical in describing God’s wisdom, Ecclesiastes is focused on dealing with the seeming paradoxes of God’s wisdom, and the Book of Job deals with the hurdles of enduring God’s wisdom. For instance, the Book of Job tells us