You Are an Overcomer

 

As we walk in this Christian journey, there’s no doubt we’ll learn a thing or two about troubles and how they come in all sizes, and varied degrees of difficulty. Jesus Christ said to the disciples in John 16:33(NLT), “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” Our Lord and Savior made it very clear that life on earth comes with challenges, especially if you are following him. There will be those who don’t like us simply because we carry his light, and these individuals will sometimes come against us and do so vehemently. Jesus Christ has given us the appropriate response to challenges like these. We should take heart, which means to take courage and be strengthened, because Jesus Christ overcame the world. He won the victory over every obstacle, and through him, we will too.

God is not redundant or nonsensical. He would not tell us to do something we were incapable of doing. He tells us to take heart and be strengthened in the victory of Christ, because we are capable, as followers of Christ, to live that reality. Christ accomplished God’s mission perfectly. He didn’t leave one detail undone. Through him, God rescued us from sin and darkness, but not everyone will believe this or live it. So, the reality is that we will live the victory of Christ parallel to our faith in that victory. To the extent that we believe it, we can achieve it.  

During our most challenging times in life, we are presented with a choice. We can believe God’s Word and His promises within it, or we can choose not to believe Him, but He wants us to take Him at His Word. He wants us to have faith in Him and invite Him into every aspect of our existences.

When my friend Jocelyn was contemplating bankruptcy, she was swimming in debt. A divorced mother of two with no savings, she had tried everything she knew to save her house, and she thought bankruptcy was her only option. Many of us feel hinged in this way. In our way of thinking, we run out of options, but in the Spirit, options are bountiful and unlimited. Troubling situations can seem like mountains we can't climb when we see them from a human point of view. Jesus Christ gives us another view. In Mark 11:23(NLT), he taught, "I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart." 

The condition of our minds and hearts are so important to walking in faith. Our life’s lessons are mostly about this, showing us the disadvantage of doubt and anxiety, and the advantage of having faith in God. Romans 8:37(ESV) declares, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” We are not just overcomers, but more than overcomers through Jesus Christ, who loves us and is continually rooting for us to succeed through him. The reality of the sacrifice and resurrection of our precious Lord is the foundation of our faith, and it is the root of any level of confidence we own as residents of earth and citizens of heaven.

In our significant relationships, some of us make the mistake of placing all our eggs in the basket of someone that is unqualified to hold them. The condition of our lives will mirror our error and levy against us circumstances that are the opposite of love and light. We must wake up and change this. Miraculously things happen in our lives and within our souls when we consciously put Jesus Christ in his rightful place of Lord in our lives. This means that no one, not a man, not mother, sister, brother, child or friend can be our everything. God is our Source, and only He can be our everything, because everything we are and could ever hope to be comes from Him. This must be settled in our minds and hearts, and when it is, our faith will be firmly placed in God through the Lord Jesus Christ, and our lives will be transformed.■ 

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“You Are an Overcomer”, written by Kim for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2023. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.