Overcomer

Do you often wish you could overcome some obstacle or problem in your life?  I believe we all have issues or fears or past mistakes and present or future troubles or giants we wish we could overcome.

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Isn’t that great news? Yes, but who could have done that you might ask?  Jesus Christ did that for us because we cannot do it for ourselves. You might say that, you can handle some problems. I’ve got that you might say. Frank Sinatra said, “I’ll do it my way.”  Like him, I have overcome many troubles on my own because that’s the way we are supposed to do it, right?  This culture says, “I can do it!” The John Wayne mentality still applies. But how is that going for you?

I have learned the hard way that my way is not the best way. God has the best way, the perfect solution to everything. He is the only perfect person. In fact God says, “If anyone lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind” (James 1:5-6). This is good news. God wants to give us the solutions, and generously. But note, we must ask without doubting or having a plan B or fallback position. I suspect you always have a second plan in case the first does not work. Well, God’s plan is perfect, in fact, “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). He then says if we ask him with all of our heart that He will not only hear us, but bring us out of our problem and to the place He has planned for us.

God is the overcomer, not us. That doesn’t mean to sit back and wait for Him to solve our problems. It means to actively go to Him for answers in everything. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God that transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). In fact Paul, the writer of Philippians goes on to say, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation…I can do everything through Him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:12-13). This is quite a promise among the many promises of God.

My own life has been quite a journey, as I suspect you might admit of your own life. It was characterized by an up and down, high and low process that looked like an EKG tape. This was because I did it my way. Until I learned to turn my problems over to God, I continued the old pattern. I have come to “trust in the Lord with all my (your) ways, and He will direct your paths (make your paths smooth)”  (Proverbs 3:5-6). I have been finding my life far less up and down; however, this does not mean that I have had no problems.  In fact, I have had some very serious problems, illnesses and trials.  But God has been my center or go to solution. He has taken me through and out of problems in his time and way. I have needed to trust and obey and stay or stand firm in Him under the problem until He has shown me His will through prayer, His Word, circumstance or other godly people. “For everyone who is born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcomes the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:4-5). Jesus speaks to us through his Revelation saying, “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7). Who is it that overcomes the world?  “They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because He is the Lord of lords and King of kings-and with Him will be His chosen and faithful followers” (Revelation 17:14).