What Does Victory Actually Look Like?
2 Corinthians 4:8-10 We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We often don’t know what to do, but we don’t give up. We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed. So we constantly experience the death of Jesus in our own bodies, but this is so that the life of Jesus can also be seen in our bodies.
When we’re suffering, when it just seems to go on and on and on and on, our resolve to stay strong weakens. And after a while, the temptation is, to give up. To throw in the towel so as to speak. That’s why today’s Word from God is so important.
Some people have been victims of their circumstances for so long that they’ve forgotten what living in victory actually looks like, what it smells like, what it tastes like, what it feels like.
Jesus died and rose again to give you victory. Okay, sometimes we’re called to suffer as He did. It’s not our first choice, but there you go… it happens.
And sure, we want to get through to the other side of that and start enjoying a much better set of circumstances. But the victory that Jesus came to give us isn’t just for when we get through to the other side. His victory is meant for you and me right in the midst of those cruddy circumstances. This is how the Apostle Paul put it:
2 Corinthians 4:8-10 We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We often don’t know what to do, but we don’t give up. We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed. So we constantly experience the death of Jesus in our own bodies, but this is so that the life of Jesus can also be seen in our bodies.
Paul suffered, but he wasn’t a victim because in the midst of it all he had his deep, personal, powerful relationship with Jesus. And I want to encourage you today that God doesn’t want you to be a victim in your suffering either. He wants you to be humble and strong, assailed and peaceful – right in the middle of the storm. Victory.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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