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

If your city was burned and ransacked, what would you do? When Nehemiah heard that the walls of Jerusalem were still in ruins, he wept. But he didn’t sit there and cry forever. He got up and said, “Okay, now what do I need to do?” He took action, put all the people to work with passion, and did in a matter of days what others hadn’t accomplished in decades. His attitude was that the joy of the Lord is our strength, and he made that attitude contagious (Nehemiah 8:10).

What I love about the Bible is that we repeatedly read about how God calls ordinary, flawed men and women to overcome struggles and live extraordinary lives. What we see through their lives is that destiny is a process that was worked out through struggle, and that their significance was found in God’s design for their lives and the attitude by which they lived.

Your attitude determines your altitude. Complainers remain; praisers get raised. In other words, it isn’t what you go through in life; it’s how you respond. It’s how you see it. How you perceive a situation is more powerful than reality. I’m not telling you to not be realistic. If the walls are ruined, God is still bigger. You see, storms do not break us—they make us, if we stay focused, keep building, keep pumping ourselves up, keep praising God.

Here’s how I keep a good attitude. Before I go on a major interview or before I get up to preach, I listen to tapes of someone who really inspires me, challenges my mind, and encourages me in the Lord. You might find the same in the company of a friend, an inspirational book, or a story in God’s Word. Getting your attitude right is the only thing that’s important. Don’t wait for somebody else to come pump you up; pump yourself up.

It takes more faith to walk through the struggle than to be delivered from it. I may not be able to stop things from happening, but I can do something about my attitude toward it. No matter what comes your way, with the right attitude you can make it become a pathway to destiny. Choose to face your current battle and determine to make it a bridge to bigger and better things. Keep doing all you know to do, and remember that you might be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you never try.

And trust God, no matter what, to bring His good purposes to pass in your life.

Related Texts: Joshua 1:9; Psalm 18:29–33; Isaiah 41:10; 43:2–3; 50:7; Acts 4:13–31; Ephesians 6:10–18