By William R. Cunningham
December 26, 1999

What hinders you from accomplishing the things that you would like to do? What milestones are before you that you figure that you will not overcome? Many times we place our own barriers before us and blame society, the institution that we are involved with, or something else for not being able to "do it." We believe that the world is supposed to cater to us and if it doesn't then we can't succeed. We feel that others should care about our success and dedicate themselves to helping us succeed. Though there are those that care about people, it is futile to think that they genuinely care about our personal success. This is not that they really don't care (some people are wired to care), however, their own personal accomplishments and activities will overrule yours.

In this study we are going to discuss the idea of you doing it, whatever that "it" is. We are going to talk about what it takes to succeed in this world from an overall standpoint. I could give you a list of items generated from scripture to show you how you can succeed. However, that would be a kin to the prosperity teachings such as "ten points to riches" or some garbage like that. We are going to discuss the Christian side and the practical side of accomplishing our goals. What should you do when you are faced with something to accomplish? What should you do to accomplish your goals? The following are some more specific questions that people may ask, which is the focus of this study.

1. How can I succeed in college?

2. How can I succeed on my job?

3. How can I succeed in my business?

4. How can I succeed in my marriage?

5. How can I succeed in raising my children?

I believe that there are some common components to the answers to the above questions. These common components or principles can be applied to answering each and every one of those questions and probably all questions that we have pertaining to accomplishing something. With that said, let's get started.

If you don't have the proper attitude then you are making your road to success more and more difficult. Why should you expect to succeed if you don't think you will? Why should you expect to succeed if your success is based on what others do? The proper attitude is a "can do" attitude. This doesn't mean that having a "can do" attitude means that things will fall in place, the blessings of God will miraculously fall on you, and people will run to your aid. What it does mean is that you have set the environment or the platform on which your actions can manifest the desired result.

Consider a boxer. A boxer will have the "can do" attitude. He has to believe that he can defeat his opponent if he expects to win. However, regardless of how much he hypes himself up, the fact remains that he has to get in the ring and perform. This means that he has to train hard to be able to back up the positive attitude and the confident speech. However, it all starts with a belief that he can do it. He starts with a confident attitude towards the task at hand, which is to defeat his opponent.

Now have you done this with the milestones in front of you? Do you have a positive attitude about the things that you want to accomplish or need to finish? Have you considered who you really are? You are a Christian, a child of God. Is that factored into your thinking when you come upon a task to finish? Consider the following scripture.

Philippians 4:11 through Philippians 4:13 (NIV) I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

In any situation Paul has learned that he can do everything because Christ gives him strength. It is not by his own power or ability. It is not by any great faith that he claims to have or the vast knowledge of the word. It is simply that he has learned that Christ strengthens him and therefore he can do everything. So it is not necessary that everything around you be conducive to your success. Sometimes it may seem that everything around you is working against you. The important point to remember is that Christ, the anointing of God, gives you strength and you are therefore capable to succeed according to His will.

Positive attitude should be accompanied by faith. You believe that you can do it because of the faith you have in your abilities and what God has said and/or made available to you. For example, you may believe that you will pass the test because of your confidence in the fact that you know the material very well because of you much studying. You also have faith in God to bring peace upon you, to guide you to the most effective methods of studying, remembering, learning, and taking the test. God is not going to pass the test for you but he will help you succeed. So your positive attitude is accompanied by, or more precisely fueled by, your faith in God and your activities (this should not be confuses with a pure faith in self). Consider the following scripture.

Mark 11:22 through Mark 11:24 (NCV) Jesus answered, "Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, 'Go, fall into the sea.' And if you have no doubts in your mind and believe that what you say will happen, God will do it for you. So I tell you to believe that you have received the things you ask for in prayer, and God will give them to you.

Notice that there is a faith in God first before any confession or confidence in pray. This doesn't mean the mere speech will move a mountain (overcome the obstacle before you). A former pastor of mine once gave an example of this. She said that men have moved mountains in order to build tunnels, clear a path, or build something. They believed that they could do it else they would not have invested such great amounts of money to move all of that dirt. They didn't necessarily have faith in God but they did have enough faith in the technology that was available to think that they could actually move a vast amount of dirt to make a tunnel for example.

So there has to be a faith involved in order to fuel a confident attitude about accomplishing the goal before us. For Christians, we have the sure benefit of knowing that we can put our faith in God and that God is true to His word. Our faith in God spawns confidence and therefore the necessary attitude needed to keep us going to completion.

Work is necessary to accomplish your goals. All of the positive attitude in the world will not bring your task to completion. Along with the positive attitude, you must work at what you want to accomplish. You may coast down hill sometimes and other times you may find yourself "rowing upstream against the current." No one said that everything would be easy. The fact of the matter is that in order to "do it" we must work at it. In order to pass a test in school (at least the honorable way), you have to study and learn so that you can apply your knowledge of the material to the questions on the test. In order to accomplish any goal in your life you must do the work to accomplish your goal. Consider what the Bible tells us.

Ecclesiastes 10:18 (NIV) If a man is lazy, the rafters sag; if his hands are idle, the house leaks.

Proverbs 10:4 (NIV) Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.

Basically, success requires work.

We must learn to use the resources that are available to us in order to accomplish the goals that we have. This implies first, we don't know everything and second that we need others. Note that our need for others is not for their care or concern. Our need for others is resource oriented. If I need to fix something in my house then I will consult someone whom I think knows how to fix the item that needs repair. I don't expect that person to really care about this project of mine. The only thing that I want is for them to share their knowledge of repairing the item.

Resources come in all shapes and sizes. Of course there is the infamous book. Many people don't like to read because they think it is too much work or that it takes to long to acquire the necessary information. We tend to want the quick fix. That is very unfortunate. It is important to realize that the information that we need to accomplish our goals is "out there" somewhere. It is up to us to be diligent enough to seek out what we need to accomplish our goals. This again takes work.

Using resources means that we will gather information from any number of sources. How do you know which bit of information is valid and which is not? This is where wisdom comes into play. There is a process that can use to validate the information that we gather. One thing is consistency and another important aspect is whether it seems reasonable or not. Thinking activates wisdom. Now if you are not used to thinking then you will be at a disadvantage. Those who are not used to thinking are usually those who want someone else to "do it" for them without any concern for the task at all. It is very beneficial that at the very least we become familiar with the task that we have.

How are you going to recognize the truth if you don't think and use the thinking powers that God has given you? This doesn't mean that your familiarity with a task is necessary for you to do it yourself. You may want to become familiar with something so that you can be more informed when you talk to your contractor or car mechanic for instance. You may not have the technical know-how to do the job but you do know enough about the job so that you can reduce the likelihood of being cheated or lied to. Do you see? This is where wisdom comes in.

Another aspect of wisdom is in deciding what is good information and what is impractical information. Wisdom will also influence the path that you decide to take based on the information that you have acquired. There may be many ways to fix your faucet but only one or two may be appropriate for your particular circumstance.

You must be focused in order to accomplish a goal. Without focus, you may find yourself going in many different directions and therefore accomplishing nothing. Focus means that you are always aware of where you want to go and where you are. You keep the task in your mind and you constantly monitor you current actions to see if you are still working to accomplish the goal or if you have become sidetracked onto something else that does not contribute to the completion of the task.

It also takes work to focus because you will have to deal with distractions as they come. People around you typically don't care about the project that you are doing. They just want your attention at a particular time and whether you appear to be working or not doesn't really matter to them. It is up to you to deal with that situation appropriately so that you don't lose your focus (and sometimes train of thought).

Balance is necessary in probably all things that we do. We can't give 100% of our total time and resources to one project or one task. We have to consider family, friends, other responsibilities, and self. Therefore, we must balance the various projects that we have. There will always be someone wanting your time or resources to accomplish their own goals. Sometimes implementing balance means that you have to say no or later. Sometimes you have to put something off. Sometimes you have to walk away from your project for a little while so that you can get rest, enjoyment, some pleasure, or just to relax.

Too much of anything will throw balance off. Your wife may complain that the husband doesn't spend enough time with her and the husband may complain that the wife doesn't spend enough time with him. This may be an indication of balance or an extreme lack of it on the part of the complainer.

You can accomplish the things that are before you. First you must have the proper attitude, which is a constructive "can do" attitude. This attitude, for the Christian, is mixed with faith not only in God but also in your own abilities. You must also work at what you want and you must use available resources. All of this is controlled by wisdom and balance else you will never accomplish your goals or you will and everything else around you may crumble.

Don't let others or your own self-imposed hindrances keep you from accomplishing your goals. It is not only by positive confession or some blind faith in God that your goals will be accomplished. It will take faith in God and yourself in addition to focus and hard work. Believe in yourself. Believe that God will direct you and help you to accomplish your goals. After all, God probably placed the goals that you have before you. You can do it if you believe you can and do something about it. Amen.