Conquering Faith
1 John 5:4,5 … for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
Fact: we are going to run into obstacles as we journey through life. “Honkin’ big” obstacles as my Canadian friend Bob would say. The sort that look set to completely derail the plans that God has for our lives.
Perhaps you have one looming up on the horizon as we speak. Or maybe you’ve been bashing your head up against some great mountain so hard, that your nose is bleeding.
But it’s not always something “out there” that needs conquering. You know how it goes. We run into an obstacle and all we want to do is blame everyone and everything, “out there”.
“It’s his fault, it’s her fault. It’s my upbringing. It’s my circumstances.” Even, … “it’s God’s fault.” Yeah, sure, why not?! Blame God, after all, everything is His fault.
The problem is always out there somewhere. It rarely crosses our minds that perhaps, the problem lies within.
I’ve heard Christians say that we need to get out there and tear down the enemy’s strongholds. But the only place that that word “stronghold” appears in the New Testament – 2 Corinthians 10:4 – it’s talking about proud arguments that have set themselves up against the knowledge of God, in the hearts of believers. Strongholds in the Bible aren’t out there, they lie within.
So … what is a stronghold? It’s something we hold onto so strong, that we can’t let go and grab hold of what God has for us. Maybe before we go crashing through brick walls out there … we need to tear a few down at home, do you think?
Of course that’s not all that easy to do, because the whole point of a stronghold is that it has a grip on you. Low self-esteem is a classic example of a stronghold that has a tragic, destructive grip on many a life.
So what we need, is something that can overcome these obstacles and tear down the strongholds.
… for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:4,5)
It’s not up to you or me to remove the obstacles and destroy the strongholds. That’s God’s job.
Our part, the part that He gives us to play, is to believe in Him. To put our complete trust in Him. And when we do, we’re able to conquer the things of this world. That’s it. That’s God’s plan.
Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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Bernadine Williams
Very strong, and very understanding. I know that I must without a doubt believe in Jesus, and I know that if I believe ...
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Very strong, and very understanding. I know that I must without a doubt believe in Jesus, and I know that if I believe then I can conquer my faith, and nothing can stand In the way of my faith. I need to put all my trust and belief in God.
Thank you for helping me to understand the meaning of conquering my faith.