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’s plan is so much bigger than how nicely our life turns out. His plan is to secure, for all eternity, a relationship with as many souls as possible. We are part of that plan. Our destiny will be seen as complete in as much as we let Him empower the roles we play through our identity as God’s Child.”
As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 20.
I don’t say this as a put down in any way but, our plans will ALWAYS be lesser than the plans God has in this world. Our plans, no matter how much we live the victor’s life, will be tainted with the “self” in ways that pale to the overarching love of our God’s plan for this world. Again, this isn’t a knock; it is just a fact that those of us who want to live like a victor must get a firm grasp upon.
Today’s Bible reading stresses this point so well. It says;
“Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)
As soon as we get into our heads that God’s plans, His purpose, always prevail, the sooner we will be in a position to deal with the devastating effects of our plans falling short from time to time. Victim thinkers are people who have bet their entire being on the hope that their plan for a comfortable, meaningful and good life will come about. Sometimes the plans for our own definition of what a good life looks like come into complete contrast with the plans God has for His children in this world.
It is when the good life we have worked so hard to maintain is challenged that doubts about God’s goodness can come in to play. That’s what Satan wants for us all - to allow enough doubt of God’s goodness to sneak in so that we are crippled when it comes to living like a victor. Those trapped in victim thinking ways have often lost hope that God’s goodness will ever be for them. It is when we confuse the goodies from God with God’s goodness that victim thinking can take hold, particularly when our plans aren’t going our way.
God is a good God. His plan for salvation for the entire world is a good plan, one that cannot be stopped! The victor and victim thinker alike are part of that good and unstoppable plan. When we are living a life surrendered to God’s plan, then we are in a position where we can go after all our plans with the kind of gusto God has made us to have. Going after our plans with this kind of attitude makes the choice to live like a victor come into focus in our lives even when our plans don’t succeed.
Look, the reality is that we have no guarantee our plans will work out. The only way I can even begin to think that I’m a victor even when my own personal plans aren’t victorious is to trust in the fact that I’m part of a plan that is so much larger than my own. It is in this place of perspective, an eternal perspective, that I can begin to live the victor’s life.
Today you will have plans that will succeed and plans that will fail. It isn’t that your were being rewarded for being a good Child with successful plans just like it isn’t that you were being punished by failed plans. God’s plan is all that is guaranteed in the world in which we live. Your life as a victor is ensured the more you give into these three realities; the first one is, that you are God’s Child, secondly, because you are his child you are part of God’s Plan and thirdly, it is part of His Plan that we, his children, will too prevail.
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“God’s plan is so much bigger than how nicely our life turns out. His plan is to secure, for all eternity, a relationship with as many souls as possible. We are part of that plan. Our destiny will be seen as complete in as much as we let Him empower the roles we play through our identity as God’s Child.”
As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 20.
I don’t say this as a put down in any way but, our plans will ALWAYS be lesser than the plans God has in this world. Our plans, no matter how much we live the victor’s life, will be tainted with the “self” in ways that pale to the overarching love of our God’s plan for this world. Again, this isn’t a knock; it is just a fact that those of us who want to live like a victor must get a firm grasp upon.
Today’s Bible reading stresses this point so well. It says;
“Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)
As soon as we get into our heads that God’s plans, His purpose, always prevail, the sooner we will be in a position to deal with the devastating effects of our plans falling short from time to time. Victim thinkers are people who have bet their entire being on the hope that their plan for a comfortable, meaningful and good life will come about. Sometimes the plans for our own definition of what a good life looks like come into complete contrast with the plans God has for His children in this world.
It is when the good life we have worked so hard to maintain is challenged that doubts about God’s goodness can come in to play. That’s what Satan wants for us all - to allow enough doubt of God’s goodness to sneak in so that we are crippled when it comes to living like a victor. Those trapped in victim thinking ways have often lost hope that God’s goodness will ever be for them. It is when we confuse the goodies from God with God’s goodness that victim thinking can take hold, particularly when our plans aren’t going our way.
God is a good God. His plan for salvation for the entire world is a good plan, one that cannot be stopped! The victor and victim thinker alike are part of that good and unstoppable plan. When we are living a life surrendered to God’s plan, then we are in a position where we can go after all our plans with the kind of gusto God has made us to have. Going after our plans with this kind of attitude makes the choice to live like a victor come into focus in our lives even when our plans don’t succeed.
Look, the reality is that we have no guarantee our plans will work out. The only way I can even begin to think that I’m a victor even when my own personal plans aren’t victorious is to trust in the fact that I’m part of a plan that is so much larger than my own. It is in this place of perspective, an eternal perspective, that I can begin to live the victor’s life.
Today you will have plans that will succeed and plans that will fail. It isn’t that your were being rewarded for being a good Child with successful plans just like it isn’t that you were being punished by failed plans. God’s plan is all that is guaranteed in the world in which we live. Your life as a victor is ensured the more you give into these three realities; the first one is, that you are God’s Child, secondly, because you are his child you are part of God’s Plan and thirdly, it is part of His Plan that we, his children, will too prevail.
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