Start telling people why they CAN

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. - 1 John 4:4When I was younger I wanted to be a major league baseball player. As a child, I didn't know all the statistics pointing to how unlikely that was. All I knew was that I loved baseball, I was pretty good at it, and I wanted to play for the Cincinnati Reds. As I got older, I began to tell people about my dream. I was pretty alarmed by the responses I received. I didn't get a whole lot of, "That's great! If you put in the hard work, anything is possible. I know you can do it!" The more common response was something like, "That's cool, but you do know that the odds of making it to the big leagues are really small right? You have to be really good, and even if you somehow get drafted and make it to the minors, there are still no guarantees."I realize that this is an extreme example, because I was probably never going to play in the big leagues. But we see this same scenario play out in our interactions with others every single day. We are consistently presented with opportunities to tell people why they can or can't do something. In those daily interactions, are you telling people why they can or are you listing all the reasons why they can't?At a concert I went to a few months back, Toby Mac told the crowd, "In every encounter, we either give life or drain it. There is no neutral exchange." We live in a fallen and sinful world that is more than ready to jump all over people and inundate them with reasons why they can't do something. We are desperately in need of more courageous people who are willing to tell others why they CAN. As a very dear friend of mine posted on his facebook wall a few days ago, "The right words spoken at the right time can make an eternal difference." We serve a big, mighty, and miraculous God who is capable of so much more than we give Him credit for sometimes. He spoke the universe into existence, parted the Red Sea, and He breathed life into us. If He can do all of those things, then why can't He help us through whatever situations we are facing right now? The God we serve is bigger than any problem or challenge we can possibly imagine.I know many of you reading this are facing all different kinds of challenges and trials. Some of you may be dealing with sin, others with loss, some are battling addictions, and some might be fighting off depression. The list goes on and on. The Lord knows that I have a few things in my life I am battling right now as well. I promise that the world is going to be quick tell us all the reasons why we will not be victorious, and why the odds are stacked against us. However, I am here to tell you today that you serve a God who has overcome the world (John 16:33). That same God who parted the Red Sea personally walks with us through our struggles (Exodus 33:14-17). Victory is inevitable, because God handed the victory to us in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57). Over and over again in God's word, He reminds us that WE CAN, so let's take every opportunity to remind each other of this. Tell someone today that they CAN be victorious because Jesus ALREADY gave up His life on that cross.