Overcome

“for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith,” 1 John 5:4 (NIV).

 

Oh boy, do we face obstacles and challenges in our life from the world.  I mean, every day, isn’t there something that you have to face:  A decision, a challenge, a temptation, and some obstacle that you have to overcome? We can do this because we ARE born of God, rejuvenated through Christ, the Son of God, Jesus the Christ, in our heart and minds.  Simple in concept, right? Yes, but to practice this is a challenge faced each day we live our lives. I think the only time I don’t face challenges is when I’m asleep (I jest), any other time, it is obstacle after obstacle, challenge after challenge. Really, I mean, doesn’t this get exhausting to anyone else?  I get exhausted from it and yes, fail, but get back up like a boxer knocked down, and come back to win the battle with the world.

 

We all have challenges that we face individually, but across the board, I think you can deduce that we all face similar challenges though they may be disguised as such to each of us individually.  Take for example… hmmm… temptations, as a general item we all face this. You may be tempted by lust, or by alcohol abuse, or something else, but in the end we are all tempted, however it manifests itself to us individually.  It’s the world that tries to lure us into its grip. Tries to hold us down and tries to make us slip up, all with the goal to take us away from Christ through sin and the guilt we feel after we commit sin.

 

Is it just me or do we face more challenges and obstacles in our lives as we grow with Christ? I wonder sometimes if that as we grow, we notice those things contrary to Christ and the bible.  Or, is it that the world and Satan are trying harder to pull us away from our God by giving large and little temptations, each tailored for each of our weaknesses? I guess after pondering it, it is both.   We grow and we recognize more sin in our lives and as we grow, Satan uses the world to try to overwhelm us with sinful thoughts and temptations. 

 

How do we overcome the obstacles in our lives, the challenges we face daily? Duh, Christ of course! If you’re like me though, sometimes I try to fight the battles by myself, leaving Christ out the picture because I think I am strong enough to face challenges on my own, without the need for Christ. This misadventure of action will always result in a slap in the face, or shall I say failure, on my behalf to look to Christ for help.  It is a lesson I seem to fail at sometimes, but when I finally come to my senses, I reorganize my thoughts, and look up and trust that Christ is the advocate for me and will be the lead soldier in my fight to overcome.  When I do remember to ask for direction from the Holy Spirit, things turn out okay and it is much easier to overcome the challenges I face.

 

This is easy for those of us who know Christ and have the Holy Spirit in us.  The world will not overcome us, but we will overcome the world.  You will know this from the actions and attitude you have when challenges from the world face you nose to nose, foot to foot.  You ever see someone not saved face challenges? They get upset, they spin around trying to figure things out, they yell, they act out, etc.  It is like they throw a tantrum or something. It is quite comic for me to watch this, especially at work. There are lots of unsaved folks at work who get spun up for just the little things and can’t control their emotions for it.  Those of us that are saved, face adversity with a calmness and gracefulness that others can’t understand. They look at us like we are crazy because we are calm in the storm of life and they don’t understand why we are not spun up like they are. It confuses them. 

 

I have this calm demeanor about me at work and in life in general.  I don’t get angry, I don’t act out, and I stay calm in the storms that come my way at work and outside of work. I mention work because I spend most of my time there, and can see those that are saved and those that aren’t and so it is a good place for me to observe this.  A deadline is coming up and the product isn’t done? My coworker, who isn’t saved, gets upset, angry, and frustrated.  Me, I’m as calm and steady as a Sunday afternoon.  I have the attitude of Christ and know things will work out and I need not worry.  I know I can overcome the challenges I face at work and when I do this, it really confuses people, and even though they take my calmness as a “don’t care” attitude, I on the other hand, know that everything will be in control and I know I won’t slip into anger or disdain, which is contrary to the Word.  I personally get a kick out of watching unsaved people spin around till they are dizzy. If you work, take a look around and observe those around you and you will see what I see.

 

If you do face challenges that you WILL overcome, you know in your heart that Christ is with you. Seek Him and He will be there with you to fight those challenges.  With our faith in Him, we will overcome because we have the faith of God in us and we are warriors of faith that will win the battles and wars we face.

 

“To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne,” Revelation 3:21 (NIV).

 

Our entire lives we have and will to continue to have challenges and obstacles. We faced them before we knew Christ, before we were saved, and now we face even greater ones that try to take us off track.  To be victorious, to sit with Christ in heaven, we have to continue to endure the things thrown at us by the world.  We have to overcome daily and weekly and yearly.  To be victorious, we must take it on challenge by challenge. On the battlefield of life, it is easier, for me at least, to take on skirmish at a time, one challenge at time. If I try to look forward to subsequent battles, I find that I get discouraged by thinking ahead. I mean, I do look at the finality of my endeavor, which is heaven, but here on this world, if I take the effort of anticipating the challenges I may face next week, next year, etc., I am discouraged for it is hard to fight each day. For me it is exhausting. Maybe you are blessed to not facing as many challenges as others, and that is great, but many of us do face great challenges in our lives that we have to fight daily. 

 

Let’s take for example, the lustful desire.  It can be lust for another or the lust for something material.  For some, it is sex, money, alcohol or drugs… you get the picture.   For some this is a daily battle for them. You fight, fight, and fight. You fail. We cannot expect to win each battle, for we are sinful creatures and give in and lose the fight, but ultimately, it is our choice and our strength in God that determines this.  I look at myself and see how weak I was in my walk with Christ in the beginning, failing and losing battles all the time. Yet as my faith has grown and my walk has continued, I find that I overcome more than I fail.  I am sure, with hopefulness, that as I continue to grow with Christ, I will continue to have more victories than failings and the tide of the battle will be on my side more than less. 

 

Philippians, 4:13 (NIV), says “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

 

With strength we will overcome. Why? Because God says that we will overcome with our faith and strength in Christ.  But how do I get more strength, you may be asking? For those of us that are saved, we know that we get strength through Christ. But how do I do that, you say?  Through prayer, through studying the bible, and by living a Christ like life.  Notice the verse says “through him who gives me strength.” It doesn’t say “through strength” for if it left out “through him” we would assume and expect that we could gain our strength through other means other than of God. 

 

We cannot get strength in Christ to overcome by our own devices, but we need Christ to give us the strength to overcome. Sometimes I believe people think they, on their own, have gotten more strength in Christ.  This type of thinking gives us the sin of pride.  The verse clearly states that Christ gives us our strength, not us giving ourselves strength.  If we didn’t need Christ to get strength, then what good is Christ in our lives? Christ freely gives this strength to overcome the world if we just ask Him to and believe that He can and that He will give us the strength to face the world. 

 

Just knowing Christ is not the end to all adversity.  We get strength in Him to overcome the world and Satan.  If we leave Christ out of the formula, then the sum will be wrong. If we let God give us the strength to overcome, we will.  One of the hard parts is letting Him give us the strength.  It isn’t an overarching strength that will give you tools by which you can defeat the enemy, but is strength for each situation and each obstacle you will face.  For each challenge, we must ask for strength to overcome. For each obstacle we can get the strength Christ to overcome.  We can gain this strength by continually seeking and asking for it each day.

 

“Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always,” 1 Chronicles 16:11 (NIV).

 

This verse adds to the Philippians verse above by adding to “seek his face always.”  Always have Christ on your mind, always mediate on Him.  What does this mean to you? For me, it is always thinking and keeping my heart open to Him throughout the day. I’m always thinking of Him and talking to Him in my thoughts and actions.  I pray, I study the word, and I talk about Him as much as I can to those that listen. 

 

In facing obstacles then, I seek Him even more, so that my thoughts and actions are focused on Christ like mindedness, not my mind.  I fail sometimes, but it’s a lot less than I used too.  I find that focusing on Him in my thoughts all the time gives me a sense of peace and joy and gives me a positive attitude throughout the day. 

 

Those of the world don’t understand and therefore they flap in the wind, going this way and that way trying to solve problems.  If they had Jesus, then this would be easier for them to overcome.  Unsaved folks just don’t understand how we think and act and just don’t get it: that through Christ we get strength and we overcome. They continue in a vicious cycle that they can’t get out of. Yet we with Christ have escaped that cycle and can move on in life with a hopeful expectation of being able to overcome the world and everything it will through at us with the end result being in eternity in heaven with fellow believers and Christ. 

 

The world will continue to throw things at us regardless of what we do and where we stand with Christ. We will overcome though.  We will win battles in our life that the adversary throws at us daily.  I’ve got Jesus and I overcome.  When I forget to seek His strength, I fail.  When I seek his strength, nothing can hold me down. Nothing will keep me away from my God. Nothing.

 

If you are reading this and aren’t saved, there is hope for you.  Christ can give you the strength to overcome challenges and obstacles that you’re facing. He will give you the tools to overcome. All you need to do is accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. This is a huge step, but if you want to overcome the battles going in your life and get to heaven, He is the only way to conquer the world and get to heaven.  If you want to go to go to heaven you must not be overtaken by the world.  You need to accept Him in your heart as your Lord and Savior. 

 

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world,” John 16:33 (NIV).