Changing Can’ts to Won’ts

Romans 12:21

Can’t and won’t. Christians need to be very careful which one they choose. It seems that we prefer to use “can’t.”

“I just can’t get along with my wife.”
“My husband and I can’t communicate.”
“I can’t discipline the kids as I should.”
“I just can’t give up the affair I’m having.”
“I can’t stop overeating.”
“I can’t find time to pray.”

Any Christian who takes the Bible seriously will have to agree the word here really should be “won’t.” Why? Because we have been given the power, the ability to overcome. Literally!

Any good psychiatrist knows that “I can’t” and “I’ve tried” are merely lame excuses.

We’re really saying “I won’t,” because we don’t choose to say “With the help of God, I will!”

Now, go back and change all those “can’ts” on that internal list you carry around to “won’ts” and see how that makes you feel about yourself. Not very good, huh? It’s the same as “choosing” to disobey. Today you can choose to be an “I will” person.

An excuse has been defined as the skin of reason stuffed with a lie (Michael Green, Illustrations for Biblical Preaching).

Instead of saying “I won’t,” we must learn to say, "With the help of God, I will!"

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Taken from Day by Day with Charles Swindoll by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2000 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

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Pastor Charles R. Swindoll has devoted his life to the accurate, practical teaching and application of God’s Word. He is the founding pastor of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, but Chuck’s listening audience extends far beyond a local church body. As a leading programme in Christian broadcasting since 1979, Insight for Living airs around the world. Chuck’s leadership as president and now chancellor emeritus at Dallas Theological Seminary has helped prepare and equip a new generation of men and women for ministry.