But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

– 2 Corinthian 12:9

How could I miss it?  How could I go so long…and miss it?  How could I labor, strive, exert, struggle, and do it all over again for so long….and miss it? 

VICTORY.   It’s a word which describes the pinnacle of achievement.  Achievement is good in and of itself, but for every step which is an achievement, victory is more satisfying because victory means reaching the goal for the direction and collection of our steps.   

VICTORY.  When I think of this word, I think like most of us will, about sports.

In sports, no win is sweeter than the last win of the last game of the last series.   The reason for this is because the end goal should never merely be achievement.  The end goal should always be victory.  Total.  Complete.  Victory.

There must be no greater sense of fulfillment than to be continually victorious in all things. 

Think about that for a second.  Who experiences such fulfillment???   Only one person that I can think of ever has:   Jesus.

Jesus must have been the most fulfilled person to ever walk this earth because, in layman’s terms, he never lost. 

One thing I love about God is that what may feel like a loss to us…and to others, may actually be a win. 

Think Jesus’ death on the cross.  Think Gideon’s army.  Think Moses hitting the banks of the Red Sea.

Victory should never be discounted by what we see or feel.  Victory, like power, belongs to God and can be right around the corner. 

Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means for me to be victorious.  I’ve been thinking about the struggles I’ve had:

–          Struggles to stay on a certain path.

–          Struggles to react a certain way.

–          Struggles to build a certain consistency.

But, recently, by God’s grace, I’ve experienced victory in areas which have been a frequent struggle.

What’s made the difference?    A few things I’d like to share with you.

–          My practice of confessing my struggles to God and seeking His power

–          My determination to be victorious in all things

–          Seeking Him first, specifically as my provider for victory

Confessing my struggles to God and seeking his power

I can’t put in words how much of a difference this has made in my prayer life.  My pouring out negativity and God pouring in positivity is the picture I want to paint for you.

In short, if you’re full of anxiety, fear, struggle, sin, etc. there’s no room for you receive peace, faith, victory, purity, and so forth…because you’re full of negative stuff.  You’ve got to pour out the negative so God can pour His grace into you! 

If you want to experience real transformation, you must repent first.  There’s no sense in you being puffed up with pride or dellusional, coming before God like you have it all together.  FIND SOMETHING to confess to God.  Confess it.  Then, seek His grace for victory in that area.  Then, move on to the next thing.  Do this for as many areas He leads you to seek victory in.

When we jump right into spiritual activity without first humbling ourselves, we miss out on grace that He has in store for us.  James 4:6 says “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. “  Why would God say He gives grace to the humble, then withhold grace from us as we humble ourselves before Him?  He doesn’t.  He gives it liberally, because He wants us to seek His power to replace our weakness.

Confess/acknowledge your struggles, and confess by faith His victory and power. 

Being determined to be victorious all things

The determination to be victorious in all things usually comes either from wisdom obeyed the first time around or from being sick and tired of living what feels like a compartmentalized and/or underachieving life.   For instance, in a compartmentalized life, you have a sense of victory on Sunday morning, and can believe God for anything then, but during the week that faith & sense of victory wears off.

To break the pattern of compartmentalized faith, apply your faith each day to a variety of goals like the following:

–          Work goals

–          Financial goals

–          Relational goals

–          Personal goals

–          Ministry goals

As someone recently shared with me about their life, “It’s MY life!”  Get passionate about victory!!!

Seeking God first and trusting that my victory will come from Him, not my hard or busy work.

Too often we jump right into our day and we rely on our own effort/work.   We get a late start to the day and we figure we better hurry to be productive.  We have a lot to do and we figure that we better get around to it.  But, the reality is…NO ONE can provide for us like our Heavenly Father can.  He can drop manna out of the sky.  He can send rain during famine.  He can calm the stormiest of seas.

The challenge is to apply our faith to Him, and trust that seeking Him first is best. 

Regardless of how uncomfortable this is, do it.

I’d like to share with you a short story about this.  When I was a college freshman during Spring semester,  I was wanting to improve my grades.  I had a never ending laundry list of things to do:  Chapters to read, assignments/papers to complete, & notes to organize and study.   At times, I couldn’t have felt more pressure to put off time with God and jump right into my day.  But, I didn’t do this.  Instead, I prioritized my time with God, and pushed back everything else.  With each passing day, my time with God became richer and more precious.  I noted the difference He made in me.  The focus He gave me.   The confidence He gave me.  The strength He gave me.

My grades literally skyrocketed.   A year later, after continuing strong academic performance, almost out of a dare to myself, I applied to transfer to a school which I knew would  be a reach.   I didn’t apply to any other schools.   Just that one.  If I didn’t get in, I’d stay where I was.   If I got accepted, I’d…honestly, I didn’t really think about what I’d do because I didn’t really think I’d get in.

I got in.

After recognizing additional measures of God’s provision in the financial aid package, I transferred to that school and graduated from there.  It was as if God was saying, “Let me show how I can open doors for you through what I’m doing in you.”

What victory does God have in store for you? 

What’s door does He want to open for you? 

What faith does He want to give you to lead to and through those open doors?   

NOTHING can surmount the significance of His grace in your victories.

May you experience more of His grace and more of His victory.

Live the life.