Victory wasn't a word I heard much in church growing up. I heard a lot about hell and sin and service, but not so much about victory. In fact, for most of my life, although I considered myself to be a mature believer and was pastoring churches, if you had asked me when we were supposed to have victory I would have told you, "When Christ comes back, everything will be made right and we'll walk in victory with him." If you are sighing because that is so sad, just go right ahead. I was convinced that we weren't promised victory. And in a way, we're not. Yes, Christ has won the victory, defeated sin and death, put Satan under his feet. Jesus himself said that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him and that he will never leave us. But the Bible also says, "to those who overcome...", in other words, not everyone walks in victory even though the victory is ours.
Many of us fall into the trap that Satan has laid out. He comes along into the life of the young believer and temps a little, lies a little, twists the truth a little and before long we believe that we can't change, that we're supposed to fail and that all God's promises are for the next life. In the mean time we just keep walking in defeat, with our head down and our hearts wounded or lost. Even believers get depressed. Even Christians believe lies. Unfortunately we all feel that way sooner or later, some of us feel that way more often than not. So how do we walk in victory? How do we live our lives to the fullest, till life is overflowing? It starts with knowing who we are.
I'm an expert at trying to live up to other people's expectations. I grew up being taught to take responsibility for my actions until I took responsibility for everything around me, whether it was my fault or not. People would say something terrible about me and I would think, well they probably think that because of this, I guess they're right if you look at this way. I still struggle not to do that. I spent 33 years trying to be what I thought my parents wanted me to be, what I thought my friends wanted me to be, what I thought my wife and kids wanted me to be and what I thought my church wanted me to be. All I knew was misery because none of the things I thought people wanted me to be, was me.
We can't walk in victory until we know who we are because victory is personal. The world wasn't given victory over sin and death. Jesus only gives victory to those who follow him. There is no other victory, no loopholes or ways to trick the system. And Jesus didn't die for a good son, or a good friend, or a good husband or a good pastor. Jesus fought the battle and won the war for you and me. The Bible says that before God even created the world that he KNEW us, and chose us, and loved us (Romans 8:29, Ephesians 1:4) He didn't choose the people who would live up to some preconceived ideal, he knew you. He knew what you would love and he chose you. He knew where you would be weak, when you would fail, all the things you would struggle with, and he chose you. He knew everything and still he chose you. So why are we trying so hard to be something we're not? Is it maybe because someone has told us we can't do it. Perhaps we've tried and failed and there is a voice in our head that says who we really are isn't pleasing to God.
It's time to break that lie. Sever the agreement you've made that the real you isn't a good person, isn't worth knowing, that you need to struggle to be someone else. You may have tried so long to be something you aren't that you don't really know who you are. So let's start small. Trying asking God this simple question, "Who do you think I am?" Then be quiet and wait. When something pops in your head ask God to confirm it. Wrestle with that process until you feel you have an answer. God doesn't want you to stumble in the darkness, in fact Jesus said he was the light. So hang with it and then write it down. Think about it for a while. Think of how it would be to live as that person, or to be the person God said you were. Let it sink in because God doesn't guess, he isn't just throwing ideas around. He knows you and he chose you to walk in victory. And victory begins by being yourself. I would love to hear what God says about you. If you do ask God and you feel up to it, post what he says here on the blog. Let your obedience help others to obey and let's just see what God does.
No comments:
Post a Comment