Are you an overcomer? Or… are you in the state of overcoming? There is a promise for us if we contend to overcome. (Revelations 21:7) “He who overcomes shall inherit all things and I will be his God and he shall be My son.” Now that is a promise worth contending for! But… if the flesh gets hold of this then it will whine away resolve. Because, bottom line, you have to contend, to resolve to overcome. Losing appears to be the opposite of overcome – not a state that one would choose.
Though everyone knows what overcoming is (winning), defining it does put a period on what we are discussing. Overcome according to Webster means: surmount (get the better of), conquer, defeat, prevail, triumph.Those are all strong words and basically mean that you are the victor not the defeated. I especially like the word – triumph – because it means that in the face of obstacles, I have found a way to victory. We are all in a battle – daily. When it comes to our emotions and feelings, this means that they aren’t controlling us. When it comes to the mind it means that we discover options, alternatives to the dilemma.
Past success in overcoming rarely last long enough. It seems that when one battle is completed, another rises to the surface. The reason for this, in my opinion, is that we are all in a state of becoming. Becoming is a condition of improving oneself, of growing/maturing. All this is ‘good’ but all this takes time, commitment, and dedication. Yes, we all slip but the point is – do we get up, dust ourselves off, and continue.?
When you consider the verse in Revelations, overcoming takes on an even greater significance. In this case we are talking about both the here and now as well as the future. Personally I don’t believe we are asked to choose between them. We need to focus on both simultaneously because when you really consider – our now actions have ramifications about our future. This should not be viewed as a scary thing, that God is just waiting to zap us when we make a mistake. Quite the contrary – He’s our greatest cheerleader and when we slip, once we turn again to Him – we are empowered by His grace and favor again as He helps us overcome.
