Thoughts
that have come from various quotes taken from the book, "Victor - Breaking
Free From a Victim Based Society" by John H. Hovis. Click here to link directly to
the audio file.
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God is good no matter how much goodness we have in our lives
As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 93.
Trying to quantify the goodness of God by how good our life is right now is a recipe for disaster for those of us attempting to live this life as a victor. If God is a good God as the Bible says then His goodness is just as relevant when the goodies we all hope for seem to be missing so completely in our life.
I can't tell you how many people I have known who have lived a life of belief in God's goodness based on the good things they have in their life. Those same people find it a challenge to have faith in God when, for reasons we may never know, God chooses to allow this world to come against the good life we seek so hard to have. A faith in a good God based on the proof of a good life is not a faith the victor can trust.
I am in no way saying that it is God's intention for us to suffer just for sufferings sake. Suffering isn't proof that we serve an evil God just as goodness isn't proof that we serve a good God. Good and bad are going to happen to the victor as well as the victim thinker in this fallen world. Trying to look to our circumstances as proof of the kind of God we have in our life or as confirmation that we are following this God in an appropriate manner makes it so hard to live this life as a victor. Victors who rely on their circumstances as proof of anything about their identity or about the identity of their God are sure to be trapped in the tangled web of victim thinking.
The bible says this about God's goodness,
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. Mark 10:18 (NIV)
Here is the very Son of God, the only perfect human being to ever have walked the face of the earth, and the one person who has the best grasp on the goodness of God saying that no one, including himself, is good except God the father alone. Jesus never let his circumstances be the guiding light when it comes to whether God was good or not. If anyone had the right to challenge the goodness of God based on his circumstance, Jesus would be the foremost example for us to follow because of the horrific ending to his life. Yet through all the suffering that he faced Jesus never wavered on his belief in God's goodness.
It is such a damaging practice for victors to allow their circumstances to influence their belief in this good God. Victim thinking is sure to follow when victors rely on their good life as proof of the nature of God. Of course the victor wants and pursues as much good as they can achieve in this life. But when the bad times come victors simply choose to continue believing in the goodness of God.
When victors choose to have faith in God's goodness even when their circumstances don't reflect the kind of good life they would like to have they're just like Jesus in believing that God's plan trumps the evil causing the bad times in the their life. The victor doesn't believe that God causes bad times in their life but rather the bad times are being used by God for purpose that are even bigger than the good life we all want for ourselves. That kind of eternal perspective makes God a proud father of his children.
I firmly believe that God knows how hard it is for us to trust him when bad times are part of our life. I don't believe for a second that God in any way looks down on us when the challenges of this life make us doubt His goodness. I do believe that God beams with pride when his children persevere through the bad times choosing to believe that his goodness abounds.
When the challenging times come against you remember two things. First of all remember who you are -you are God's child and this makes you a victor. Second remember he is good and all of the bad that this world interjects into our lives can never change that fact.
**********
God is good no matter how much goodness we have in our lives
As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 93.
Trying to quantify the goodness of God by how good our life is right now is a recipe for disaster for those of us attempting to live this life as a victor. If God is a good God as the Bible says then His goodness is just as relevant when the goodies we all hope for seem to be missing so completely in our life.
I can't tell you how many people I have known who have lived a life of belief in God's goodness based on the good things they have in their life. Those same people find it a challenge to have faith in God when, for reasons we may never know, God chooses to allow this world to come against the good life we seek so hard to have. A faith in a good God based on the proof of a good life is not a faith the victor can trust.
I am in no way saying that it is God's intention for us to suffer just for sufferings sake. Suffering isn't proof that we serve an evil God just as goodness isn't proof that we serve a good God. Good and bad are going to happen to the victor as well as the victim thinker in this fallen world. Trying to look to our circumstances as proof of the kind of God we have in our life or as confirmation that we are following this God in an appropriate manner makes it so hard to live this life as a victor. Victors who rely on their circumstances as proof of anything about their identity or about the identity of their God are sure to be trapped in the tangled web of victim thinking.
The bible says this about God's goodness,
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. Mark 10:18 (NIV)
Here is the very Son of God, the only perfect human being to ever have walked the face of the earth, and the one person who has the best grasp on the goodness of God saying that no one, including himself, is good except God the father alone. Jesus never let his circumstances be the guiding light when it comes to whether God was good or not. If anyone had the right to challenge the goodness of God based on his circumstance, Jesus would be the foremost example for us to follow because of the horrific ending to his life. Yet through all the suffering that he faced Jesus never wavered on his belief in God's goodness.
It is such a damaging practice for victors to allow their circumstances to influence their belief in this good God. Victim thinking is sure to follow when victors rely on their good life as proof of the nature of God. Of course the victor wants and pursues as much good as they can achieve in this life. But when the bad times come victors simply choose to continue believing in the goodness of God.
When victors choose to have faith in God's goodness even when their circumstances don't reflect the kind of good life they would like to have they're just like Jesus in believing that God's plan trumps the evil causing the bad times in the their life. The victor doesn't believe that God causes bad times in their life but rather the bad times are being used by God for purpose that are even bigger than the good life we all want for ourselves. That kind of eternal perspective makes God a proud father of his children.
I firmly believe that God knows how hard it is for us to trust him when bad times are part of our life. I don't believe for a second that God in any way looks down on us when the challenges of this life make us doubt His goodness. I do believe that God beams with pride when his children persevere through the bad times choosing to believe that his goodness abounds.
When the challenging times come against you remember two things. First of all remember who you are -you are God's child and this makes you a victor. Second remember he is good and all of the bad that this world interjects into our lives can never change that fact.
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