“‘No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us’ (New International Version, Rom. 8:37).”
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines victory as, “success in defeating an opponent or enemy.” The Free Dictionary defines victory as, “a success in a struggle against difficulties or an obstacle.” Synonyms are success, triumph, conquest and win. These definitions and synonyms make it easy to ascertain that victory does not occur without the presence of opposition. I label this dynamic, the other side of the coin. The victorious side has an opposite side of obstacles that had to be overcome. When facing the side that is laden with obstacles and opposition, we have to keep in mind victory exists on the opposite side if we persevere.
Now envision with me the coin of life. The minutes, hours, and days sweep us into weeks, months, years and eventually a lifetime. A lifetime full of trouble. “‘Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble’ (King James Version, Job 14:1).” How then are we able to carve daily victory out of a lifetime “full of trouble?” Just the sound of that has potential to zap all hope. But there is hope. God has given us a mental and spiritual battle plan that has been overlain with confidence.
1. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—”’His good, pleasing and perfect will’ (New International Version, Rom. 12:2).”
Stop roaming. Before the iPhone days, my cell phone of choice was the Nextel flip phone. Initially I had great reception as defined by the technology that was available during those days. However, over time my reception deteriorated and became so bad I called the customer service department for assistance correcting the problem. I was advised that my reception was strongest in my home area where my home tower was located. As I travelled from city to city my phone would roam and connect to the closest tower in that area. It would conform to the signal strength and settings of that tower in order to provide the best coverage. The representative told me my phone had remained connected to a tower outside my home area although I had returned home. It had conformed to the signals and settings received from that distant tower and was still trying to operate to them.
The problem was the phone was not strong enough to overcome the obstacle the distance presented. I was advised to reboot it by turning it off for approximately sixty seconds and then turning it back on. Turning it off would clear out the distant tower’s settings and turning it on would allow it to refresh itself and pick up the signals and settings from my home tower. Problem solved. Our daily victory begins by first, clearing
our mind of the unhealthy data this world constantly forwards our way and second, renewing/reprogramming our mind with the Word of God.
2. “‘Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes’ (New International Version, Eph. 6:11).”
Ephesians 6:10-18 prepares us for spiritual battle. Renewing our mind with these verses is an excellent way to begin each day. You’ve heard the saying “you don’t bring a knife to a gun fight.” Well you don’t bring carnal weapons to a spiritual battle. Piece by piece the Apostle Paul walks us through the spiritual equipment we have available to assure victory. And he does so in an elementary manner so that believers at any stage of
maturity can understand. He uses the natural to help us grasp the supernatural. Take a look at these pairings:
a. Flesh and blood is paired with powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly realms
b. Belt is paired with truth
c. Breastplate is paired with righteousness
d. Feet fitted is paired with the gospel of peace
e. Shield is paired with faith
f. Helmet is paired with salvation
g. Sword is paired with the Word of God
And then the entire spiritual armor is held together with prayer. Wow! Finally, we don’t have to wonder if we will have victory over our daily struggles. We have been given that assurance throughout Romans 8:31-39. God loved us so much he gave us the ultimate victory – victory over death. That victory required that He give up His Son to an awful death on a Roman cross. With these facts in front of us, scripture simply says connect the dots. Since our Omnipotent God paid the ultimate price to give us the ultimate victory, doesn’t it line up that He will give us victory on a lesser scale?