Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.

This came out of my prayer and devotional time today. I have been battling discouragement and just being “down in the dumps” lately. No real reason, other than being a bit beaten down and being hard on myself.

In my prayer I asked Christ, as the Conqueror of All, the Victor, and the Powerful Accomplisher (seriously, how’s that for a title, ladies?) that He would fill me with His Holy confidence and encouragement. Heck, being a Conqueror, Victor, and Powerful Accomplisher must leave someone with a sense of confidence and enthusiasm, right?

Praying this, God gave me this verse. That I could do all things through Christ.

As a grammatical aside, I want to point out the verse is not “Christ WHO strengthens me” but “Christ WHICH strengthens me.” Most being rephrase it in their heads to mean that Christ will strengthen you in order that you can do all things. I know I have. But this time, the WHICH stuck out to me. This really means, that the “doing of all things through Christ” would then strengthen me.

While I was praying, I believe God opened my ideas to the fact that so often and especially lately I have blocked out the I CAN and the THROUGH CHRIST WHICH STRENGTHENS ME. Which has left me with

DO ALL THINGS.

Hmmm, looks like my to-do list. (Yes, I have a very organized, color-coded to-do list. In columns.)

See, right there in that simple verse Jesus Christ has given me all the Encouragement and Victory I need to be a great Accomplisher as well; and finally Conquer my to-do list. That to-do list has conquered me for far too long.

See, I need to change my attitude. Having victory over my to-do list is not about checking every single thing off and ending each day with a clean slate. (Oh, but wouldn’t that be nice?)

No, it’s about doing all those things on the to-do list THROUGH Christ. Serving my Lord while scrubbing the toilets (No, I have not exactly figured out the how those two mesh together yet, but I’m sure God will tell me!) and doing the mountain of business paperwork I’ve been avoiding. Developing a true servant’s heart.

So I’ve decided to change the name of my to-do list to my CAN DO list. I hope this tiny little change will remind me every single day that I CAN do all things THROUGH CHRIST. And that by of doing all those things through Christ, I will be strengthened. And that list will no longer be drudgery but full of joy.