Yes God Can!Sample

Power Beyond Dreams 

Not long after I graduated from high school, a harsh reality began to sink in…

My dream of becoming a professional basketball player in the NBA was beginning to fade. 

Though I possessed a measure of ability, it wasn’t going to earn me a full-ride scholarship at a major university or an eventual selection in the NBA draft. Having a backup plan is certainly wise in light of the following statistics,

· Players making the jump from high school to college = 2.9%

· Players making the jump from college to pro = 1.3%

· Chances of any high school player going pro = .03% or 3 out of every 10,000

Like me, perhaps you heard these magical words growing up,

“You can do anything you put your mind to.”

Listen, I was one of those fanatics who slept with my basketball. I practically ate, drank, and breathed the game of basketball from age 11 to 19. My mind was filled with hoop dreams. I spent countless hours working on my game before and after school.

In the end, it wasn’t enough.

In his letter to the Philippians, the Apostle Paul penned the following words that would eventually become one of the most quoted verses in modern Christianity,

“For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13 NLT)

Unfortunately, some of us (myself included) have used these words as a means to try achieving something big in life. We might even lock our eyes on something we really want and say to ourselves, “Nothing is going to come between me and my dreams.”

But to fully understand what Paul was saying, we need to read the previous verse,

“I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.” (4:12 NLT)

And just what is the ‘secret of living in every situation’? It’s ‘Christ, who gives me strength.’

Paul isn’t telling us he could become Caesar of Rome if he just puts his mind to it. He’s saying that no matter what he’s facing or which circumstance he finds himself, he can make it through with the strength of Christ fueling him.

The Greek word for the phrase, “Christ, who gives me strength”, is endynamoo which denotes a present and continued act.

It’s as if Paul had said, “Through Christ, who is strengthening me, and does continually strengthen me; it is by his constant and renewed strength I am enabled to act in everything; I wholly depend upon him for all my spiritual power.” (Matthew Henry commentary)

This isn’t some pie in the sky cliché we’re talking about here. This is spiritual power for any situation you and I face in life.

Earthly dreams come and go but in Christ, we have more than we could ever dream or imagine.

Prayer…

"Father, thank you for the promise that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. Help us to always remember that it's through Christ and not through ourselves. We need strength for today and hope for tomorrow. In Christ, all worries dissolve. No matter what I'm facing today, help me to find my strength in Christ alone. Replace my doubt with a childlike trust in You. It's in the mighty name of Jesus, we pray, Amen."