Let me say that again – YOU can Overcome! Thinking about overcoming whatever obstacle, problem, etc. is in your life in which you want to be an overcomer… do you believe you can? Because I am completely convinced that the greatest obstacle to being victorious is … us! We may mouth the words, “Greater is He who is in me and than He who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) Or, “We are more than conquerors through Christ who strengthens me.” (Romans 8:37) Or… the phrase that the devil is only ‘like’ a roaring lion – not one (1 Peter 5:8). BUT do we really believe this?
Too often we want whatever needs doing to be done … but we also try and distance ourselves from the task, act of overcoming, of being a conqueror. Not gonna work. In order to overcome, you have to do the doing. If someone else does it for you, then you are still caught because you haven’t taken the action steps necessary to overcome. Overcoming is always personal – sometimes painful but always a choice.
Why would one not choose to overcome? Effort. Pain. Unsure of the eventual outcome. Those three (and others) tend to always emerge when we are in a position to choose to be an overcomer. Sometimes the obstacle is a small one, more like an irritant and other times it may involve a major change in one’s attitude which always results in a change in one’s mindset and behavior. Overcoming is rarely for the faint of heart. Overcoming is deliberate, conscious, determined and this may take time and repeated behavior for there to be change.
The results of overcoming, in my world of definitions, is always positive and enriching. It always leads to a new growth and maturity. It should also make this particular ‘obstacle’ impotent to cause problem in your future. ‘Should’ because your adversary will always use what has previously worked in hopes that it will again. Creative… he is not. But having gained a victory should embolden us to be on guard against any repeat. We can sustain the overcoming but we also need to be proactive in this. Again, 1 Peter 5:8
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks
about LIKE A roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
He always attempts to delude us into believing he has strength. He doesn’t. Never give him an inch. You really are an overcomer.
