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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“Victims allow the results of their doing to define them. The success or failure of a task impacts their identity. Victors do and the results of their doing don’t change their thinking of who they are or their standing with God."
As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 51.
What are the words you would like on your tombstone? Have you ever thought about that at any time in your life? What is it about your life today that can be boiled down into a few words that someone 100 years from now will get a good idea of who you are? Not an easy thing to consider is it?
Unfortunately that is what most of us are doing each and every moment of this life. It is when we look to the results of what we do to define who we are when we end up trying to hit on the exact right combination of words that will make our identity clear to someone years from now. Identity is so much more than just a circumstance that can be boiled down into a catchy phrase. Identity is what is suppose to last, yet we work like the things that we do to support that identity is what is meant to last the long run.
I’ve seen tombstones with words like, “Faithful Husband” or “Beloved Wife”. Don’t you know there was so much more to that man or that woman than the words “faithful” or “beloved” can ever describe? Sure it is an honorable thing to be recognized for our role as a spouse but is that what I want to be reminded of for all eternity?
Roles are never going to be enough to satisfy my craving for an identity that lasts. I don’t want my roles to be remembered – I want my identity to have had impact in this world. I’m learning that that just isn’t possible when I look to anything I do as confirmation or the foundation of who I am.
I know you are tired of hearing me say this but only the identity of God’s Child has risen to the point of being something I can rely on for any permanence in this world. Everything else passes the day I take my last breath. My identity as God’s Child is there forever and doesn’t falter when my life takes turns that I never expected.
Take a look at today's Bible reading with me.
What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:9-11 (NIV)
The author of Ecclesiastes saw the futility of trying to do in order to be. What do we gain from our toil? That's a question victors need to carefully consider. If we plan on gaining identity from our toil we are destined for victim thinking. It isn't wrong to toil. It is just counterproductive to use our toil to help define who we are. Toil is there for many purposes; identity should never be one of those purposes.
The beauty of your identity might not be seen in the success of your efforts. Victory is in God's timing, not in our ability to make it happen. The fact that victory is ours is a fact that has to be viewed from God's perspective. Victory is always completely seen and experienced when viewed from Heaven looking down rather than the earth looking up.
Want proof of that last statement? I have one word for you - Jesus. All the toil Jesus took on during his short stay on this earth can be summed up with one word, failure. When viewed from the earth's perspective, Jesus was a complete and utter failure. Now, look at Jesus from God's perspective in Heaven. Jesus was an absolute success. He did exactly what God needed Him to do to secure salvation for all mankind. Perspective is so important when trying to evaluate success and failure when our identity is concerned.
Nothing you will do will ever change your standing before God. You are His Child and that makes you a victor. Stop trying to earn that standing. Stop trying to prove you are who God says you are by making victory part of your confirmation process. Take on all the tasks you have before you with the passion and conviction that comes from knowing who you are. That's the only way you will be able to avoid victim thinking when the things you take on don't turn out quite the way you planned. Who knows, maybe even the failures we face will be like what Jesus experienced - a complete victory when we view those failures from the perspective of Heaven.
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