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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"Being a victor isn’t about being victorious in this world."
As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 37.
Having victory doesn’t necessarily make you a victor just like missing victory doesn’t take away from the fact that you are a victor. Those who want to throw off the bonds of victim thinking hold on tight to the fact that the tie between victory and being a victor HAS TO BE severed. Whether you have victory or not in your life can’t define what it means to be a victor for the Child of God’s.
The more one relies on the outcome of each and every circumstance as proof of a victor’s status, the more they will fall into the trap of victim thinking. How can you possibly believe that you are a victor when your NEED for victory as proof is always at odds with this fallen world in which we live? Fact is, we are going to win some and some we are going to lose. It is when losses become more of what we expect in life that victor living becomes so hard to let rule in our lives. As true as I'm seeing this fact to be, I find it so easy to allow victorious living to be tied to whether I believe I am a victor or not.
This is a way of life God never intended for us. We weren't made to be bogged down in the muck and mire of self doubt stemming from failures in a failed world. In fact, the Bible is pretty blunt about circumstances in this life. It says;
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33 (NIV)
Troubles are just part of the world we live in. You don’t have to have a relationship with God to know how true that statement is from time to time. It is when troubles hit that our strategy to let circumstances confirm our identity fails us miserably. Troubles make victim thinking a real possibility when we fail to sever our ties to what we do when we consider who we are.
But, God wants so much more for His Children. Today’s reading promises a powerful attribute to those who sever these ties. That promise is Peace.
I'm starting to believe that the quality of peace is what makes us rich. I know a lot of very wealthy people who don't have peace. I know a lot of very significant people who live in a state of constant internal turmoil. Have you ever been in that state of internal conflict that makes peace so elusive? I sure have. Those times are as close to hell as I hope I will ever get.
It isn't how much money we might make that makes us a victor. It isn't how well I do a task that makes me believe I am all God sees me to be. It is the quality of peace that makes victor living have the power I think God ordained for us all. Our reading today says that that peace comes with knowledge. Peace doesn't come as we know what to do. That peace doesn't come as we learn how to do what we need to do better. That peace comes as we know who we are in this God's eyes and who this God is in our lives.
Are you looking for a little peace in your life today? For the victor, peace is a promise that we can take for the asking. To get that peace we must continually disconnect our identity from the desire to have victory in our lives. Whether we are victorious or not in this world, we are victors. Grab for all the peace you can today and live the life of a victor Don’t let the presence of victories or the absence of them play any part in who you are in God’s eyes.
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