Do you ever get the feeling that the battle you are currently fighting is all too familiar? A kind of déjà vu and not pleasant? I can’t speak for you but when I find an uncomfortable similarity I get extremely irritated. Something that I thought I had overcome has come back and is attacking me again. Where did I allow a re-entrance??? Or what part of the obstacle have I not addressed?
The reality that we tend to forget when we have overcome an obstacle in our lives is that it never goes quietly! Simply because we have won a victory doesn’t mean that we have necessarily won the war. We must stay on guard because an obstacle enjoys its preeminence and will try a different avenue when it appears it has been defeated. Obstacles also need to know they are defeated with a capital ‘D’ not just a momentary success.
Overcoming gives us a sense of relief and exultation. However, once we have done the emotional and spiritual ‘high five’, we really do need to assess if we’ve completely overcome. But the joy of the moment can deflect us from this task. One enormous clue of total victory is if we don’t have any relapses. If there is then we need to look at what we haven’t overcome and meet it head on.
I really don’t view battles and obstacles as totally negative. They can be seen as growth points, areas in which my personal walk improves, another overcoming victory. If I am experiencing no battles, no relapses, no obstacles… am I standing still? I have assignments to fulfill as do you and if I’m not facing any opposition, am I completing this assignment? Perhaps. But the critical thing is that we all are soldiers and are expected to present ourselves, prepared to do the work. Battles are a fact of life. But so are overcoming victories!
…but what do you think?
