You have already won the victory
October 23-27, 2023 | Always Peachy Devotionals | Be Encouraged! Week 4
How do the victorious live?
When you see a successful sports team marching into a stadium, how do they carry themselves? Are they stooped over in intimidation? Do they refuse to make eye contact with others? Are they cowering when the other team approaches them?
No, of course not. A team that has won many games rushes into a stadium to the cheers of their fans. They wave and jump and celebrate. They are excited to be there. They are excited about the oncoming challenge of the game.
We expect this with sports teams, don’t we? If a team were to march out onto a field with their shoulders slumping and their heads down, we would know immediately that they were defeated before the game even began.
Hey, Christian. Which one are you?
When you wake up in the morning and face a new day, is your head lowered in intimidation and anxiety because of all the weight and fear and dread in your life?
I don’t ever want to make anyone feel guilty, so please don’t hear that in this question. We all face seasons that run us through the wringer, and I’ve certainly had mornings where I couldn’t get out of bed because of grief and sorrow’s hold.
But in general, is your life a series of drudgeries? Is your walk with Christ a source of pain and sorrow and disappointment? Do you start the day defeated?
May I gently recommend that you read a different Bible?
Because the Bible I read tells me all the time that I am victorious, that Jesus won my victory and has given me all I need to live a triumphant life. That no matter what I’m facing in a day, He will equip and empower me to face it in His name. That no matter how I might feel like a failure, because of Jesus I am a winner.
When we come at life already feeling defeated, we will live defeated. We we face troubles feeling as though they will beat us, they will.
I’m not saying it’s mind over matter. I’m saying it’s faith over circumstances. God says you have victory through Him. Believe it. And not half-heartedly. Live like you believe it. If you can’t have faith, just act like you do (which is the definition of faith, by the way).
This week in our series about encouragement, we are going to focus on how we have already won the victory and how our lives can reflect that victory every day.
Oct 23 - He goes with you (Deuteronomy 20:4)
Oct 24 - He has overcome (John 16:33)
Oct 25 - Death has no power (1 Corinthians 15:55)
Oct 26 - More than conquerors (Romans 8:37)
Oct 27 - We are truly alive (Romans 5:17)
This world isn’t home. We have a better place waiting for us, a guaranteed future that God is preparing in advance for us. But that doesn’t mean our lives on earth are useless. Nothing God does is useless or meaningless.
In our own strength, we cannot live in triumph. The world is too much for us. The enemy is too much for us. But with God, all things are possible. Jesus won victory for us so that we can live today in freedom and triumph, so there’s no reason to live defeated.
That’s why we are memorizing 1 John 5:4 this week for our memory verse:
If you are a follower of Jesus, you have the power to defeat evil in your lie. You can stand against sin. You can stand up against your enemies. You can be victorious because Jesus has already won.
So live like it.
Pick your head up. Stop expecting doom and disaster. Sure, it may come anyway, but any doom and disaster that comes at you has to get through Jesus first. And He has already declared you triumphant. Hold on to that with both hands, and don’t let it go.
Even if it doesn’t feel like it. Even when it doesn’t look like it. That’s what faith is for, and we cannot live victorious without faith.
Love you all and praying for each of you this week.
Amy
Hugs!
Amy
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