Overcomers
Deflated. Defeated. Exhausted. Confused.
I find myself here - especially at the start of a week. It’s so easy to forget our position in Christ because of what we feel. Then it’s a chase: find something, quickly, to eradicate the feelings. Run back to work. Grab that coping mechanism that never satisfies. Or, if we’ve lost the will to fight it, we can just cozy up to depression and anxiety. Whatever we think we understand, we run back to give ourselves the illusion of control.
Our American understanding of “overcoming” has atrophied. We feel entitled to swift victory. Get rich quick. 30 days to better abs. 3 point sermons that give us a formula to living our best life.
Peace is offered to us, but trials and tribulation are promised. As Christians, we’re not entitled to peace and prosperity. Life on this side of heaven was never promised to be paradise.
I love what Jesus tells his disciples (and us) in John 16. He’s telling His disciples He’s about to bounce! He’s telling them to take heart because He’s sending a Helper (the Holy Spirit). Then He says something we should hold onto with all our might, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
As believers, overcoming isn’t something WE do, it’s something HE’S done. Jesus doesn’t say, “And you’ll overcome the world”. He knows He’s about to whoop death and secure an eternal victory for us.
Jesus didn’t say, “Try harder, boys”. Jesus knew HIS victory would be THEIR victory. We’re overcomers because of our POSITION in Him - not because of anything we can do.
My encouragement (to myself and to you) isn’t to give up OR pick up the sword and run out into the world (or the comments section) and try to win a battle that Christ has already won. The encouragement is to seek peace by abiding in His Spirit today. Cue “The Battle Is The Lord’s” by Yolanda Adams.
