Day 71 – Why?

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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"I don’t believe we will ever get a clear answer to the daunting “WHY?” questions that burden us all from time to time in this life. But I do believe that we can catch a glimpse of the big picture when it comes to bad things happening in our lives."

As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 139.

Wouldn't it be nice to know the full extent of the big picture of your life? Decision making would be such a snap if we could make decisions with the fullness of our existence in mind. It is when we are uncertain about who we are or what we are here on earth for that the decision making process can be such a confusion and frustrating activity.

So what are we to do? Should we just give up and let life pass us by? I've been to the point in my life where that looked to be the only prudent thing to do. What a waste to be stuck in that place. It is when life seems so unfair, when it looks like we are just spinning our wheels and more and more trouble just seems to come our way that the question of "Why?" can have incredible influence in our lives.

I have found that trying to get the answer to the question "Why?" when bad things come my way is not always possible simply because we just can't see the end from where we are now. Without the perspective of knowing where we will be tomorrow, today can be such a confusing and upsetting place to be.

Take a look at today's Bible reading and notice what it is saying about the challenges we will face in this life.

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly. Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)

I believe that God knows that if we were to catch more than a glimpse of our lives we would be tempted to decide to go it alone without him. It isn't that he wants to wreck our lives so that we will spend time with Him - that's a pretty sick being that would do that for His own pleasure. It is that we would miss out on the beauty of a journey that is so much more than just getting from point A to point B. It isn't that God would be hurt if we were to go through this life without Him. It would be our lives that would fall way short from what they were meant to be and God's love just can't stand that possibility for us.

Life can be so tiring. The events that surround us can work to ware us out. Trying to get the reasons behind the circumstances that can drain our energy so quickly is an endeavor laced with exhaustion. I love the promise of peace in today's reading. When we go with God in this life, when we get away with Him, we recover our life. Real rest is ours to have. By being with God we learn how to move in this crazy world. We come into contact with "the unforced rhythms of grace."

Think about those last five words above, "the unforced rhythms of grace." There is a powerful peace in the combination of those words. Grace is a powerful antidote to just about anything that ails us. Grace is the action of being given something that was undeserved. I love how grace is described as being brought with unforced rhythms. It is as though grace is such an easy commodity for God to give - and it is! It isn't that grace is cheat. No, His grace cost Him everything. But, Oh how precious those unforced rhythms of grace are when life works us to the bone.

Trying to figure out the "Why?" behind the what in our lives is such a burdensome and draining activity. The glimpses we gain into our existence simply aren't enough to let perspective be what opens the doors to the rhythms of grace. It is when we come to our senses and come to God that we can begin to sense His movement in our lives There, and only there, can the victor find the power needed to let grace abound.

Are your forcing it today? Do you feel the tiredness of working hard to make that precious rhythm happen in your life? If so, maybe it is time to rest in who God says you are. Let your status as a victor that comes with being a child of God be what brings the unforced rhythms of grace in your life today.

Day 70 - Distance From Love

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 love isn’t limited by the number of people it flows through nor the distance we feel we are from that love."

As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 135.

Ever been in need of something and just as you look around you see someone who receives just what you feel like you need at that moment? Maybe it was a word of encouragement that someone else got instead of you. Maybe it was a promotion that you worked so hard to obtain. Maybe it was a simple hug that everyone else seems to shrug off that would mean the world to you. Whatever it is, sometimes we feel such a great distance from the Love that is so critical in all our lives.

This can be particularly the case when we feel we are in need from some kind of attention from God. The presence of God can be so hard to feel, let alone recognize at times in our life. It isn’t that God is distant. I believe that this feeling comes from the fact that this world is so good at masking His voice and cloaking His appearances all around us. In addition to the world doing all it can to keep us from seeing and hearing from our God, we can be so distracted that we can miss His presence in ways that might surprise us from time to time.

There is a story in the Bible of a prophet of God that was in dire need of hearing from God. Elijah was a man who lived during times of great trouble for the Nation Israel. He was one of the lone voices speaking out against the unspeakable evil that was happening amongst God’s people. He was persecuted by his enemies and the world did all it could to silence the word of God that was being spoken through this man. In the middle of the turmoil Elijah needed to hear from God. Check out today’s Bible reading for what happened next.

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. 1 Kings 19:11-13 (NIV)

We so often look for the power of God as proof that He is there. We want the wind to come and shatter all the mountains that stand against us. We want the earthquake to shake down all the walls that have been built up as barriers to us being all we want to be. We look to the fire from God to come down and lap up the evil that works to trip us up at every turn. Elijah was no different than any of us. He thought God would appear in the mighty, but He didn’t.

A gentle whisper ushered in the very presence of God. I’m not sure I would have waited for that whisper. After the disappointment of failing to see God in the wind or the quake or the fire, I might have turned and walked away. Luckily for Elijah he didn’t give up so easy. That whisper made all the difference and set Elijah up for the next phase of his journey with his God.

There are several places in the Bible where we are admonished to have “ears to hear” and “eyes to see”. Strange words but such a powerful truth for us to apply. Had not Elijah had ears to hear he would have missed the presence of God that day and might have gone on to defeat in ways God never intended. We too need ears to hear and eyes to see. Particularly in this fast paced, chaotic world where darkness is gaining more and more strength. Don’t expect God in the wind, the quake or the fire – he might be there but more often than not it is in the still, quiet times of our live that God’s whisper can ring so profoundly.

It isn’t that God is too far away from you that makes it hard to hear from Him. It isn’t that he has too many people to love that makes His love hard to understand, recognize and enjoy at times. It is that we are looking for Him in the wrong places and our ears and eyes are blocked by the trappings of this world. It is when we can’t see Him or hear Him that we need to do a little self evaluation.

His love is there for you today. It isn’t being withheld by a wicked God. It also isn’t being blocked by the evil in this world. Take time today to be still. Block out as much of the jumbled up mess of this world as you can and just let His quiet whisper speak to you. Don’t be distracted by the wind, the quake or the fire today. Listen to what He is saying because His word is always for His children and that word is what makes us victors in a world that works so hard to bring us down with victimizing events. 

Day 69 – Worthlessness

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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"We are worthless to Him, but that worthlessness doesn’t disqualify us from His love."

As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 130.

We are worthless to God. How does that make you feel? I hope it gets your blood boiling a bit at me and at the thought that this could be true. I have to tell you I hate this thought as much as you might be hating it right now also.

In spite of how much I can’t stand the thought that I am worthless to God there is a truth to that statement that just can’t be denied. If you spend any time studying the universe you can’t help but come to that same conclusion just out of the shear magnitude of all creation and the incredible smallness of our presence in that creation.

Louie Giglio is a pastor that I so appreciate listening to. He has a passion and way of communicating that is so engaging. I recently watched a video on How Great Is Our God. You can watch it yourself on YouTube, just search Louie Giglio How Great Is Our God.

In the video he compares our planet to some of the largest stars in the universe. When compared to our sun, in his example, the earth is the size of a golf ball. Compared to the largest star known to science, our sun isn’t even the size of a pin point! The shear enormity of the universe makes me feel small and insignificant. And I am! So are you. That’s what I mean when I say that before God we are nothing to him. The enormity of God compared to the insignificance of our existence goes a long way to prove this fact. Yet, in spite of the size difference, God has done everything to make it possible for us to come into relationship with himself.

The Bible is pretty clear on our lack ability to do anything of worth when it comes to the awesome capabilities of our God. Check out today’s verse with me.

I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous,
    your handmade sky-jewelry,
Moon and stars mounted in their settings.
    Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
Why do you bother with us?
    Why take a second look our way? Psalm 8:3-4 (MSG)

Compared to this amazing God, we are nothing. Yet, He has given all He has to bring us into, what can be an intimate relationship with Him. It isn’t that He is missing something that we fill in His life. How could that ever be? There is something in the very fact that His creation would choose to allow Him to love them that makes it all worth it for this God who made us all. Although we are, in essence, worthless to Him we are not disqualified from the great love He has for us. That’s the legacy we all have in our lives – a love from a “macro” God for a “micro” being that makes us something more than this world will ever be able to offer up as a substitute.

Today might be one of those days you’d just like to forget. The trails that might come your way might get you to a place where you think that you just aren’t lovable. Today also might be one of those days you’d like to replay over time and time again. It might be that everything you touch today turns to gold.

Which ever kind of day you face hang on to the thought that He doesn’t need you. He doesn’t need your successes or care about your failures. He isn’t looking for perfection and right decisions. He isn’t waiting for you to clean up your act before He can love. He doesn’t need you,  He wants you! That’s what makes you a victor even when your victories seem so far out of reach.

Take time today to rest in the fact that you aren’t too small to be loved and He isn’t too big to overlook the love He has for you. Then go out and do all you were meant to do with the knowledge that no matter how it turns out you are loved, valued and worthy because of who he has made you to be – His beloved child.

Day 68 – When Coping Fails

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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"I have since found that our loving God simply won’t allow us to remain in a place where we are able to get that fulfillment anywhere outside of our total reliance on Him. . He simply can’t stand to see us suffer the effects of grasping for counterfeit ways of finding fulfillment outside of His provision."

As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 123.

I have found it amazing how things that use to work for me when it comes to feeling good about myself simply stopped working in my life. It can be so frustrating when the systems, habits and formulas that I use to make it tolerable when troubling times hit no longer bring to my life the kinds of fixes that I so crave. This fact has put me in places where I have questioned God’s love for me. After all, if he really loves me, why would he take away those things that use to make me feel OK about myself?

I have since learned that there is nothing wrong with God’s love. It is my understanding of what love really means that needs constant adjustment. This world is such a terrible teacher when it comes to the lessons that we need to learn about love.

The loss of my coping mechanisms is actually a sign that God loves me. Why would a loving parent ever let his child rely on something false when it comes to anything as important is knowing who we are? It would be unloving of God to let us remain in the place that this world could ever give us the kinds of fulfillment that only He can provide. Then why does God let our coping mechanisms work for a while? I believe he does that out of love also. The Bible says this about the issue of how we cope with this world.

…but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:10-12 (NIV)

You see, we are all children of God. Just like any child, we mature. We grow into something that is based on what we are now but is different. We never outgrow being God’s child, but our child like ways grow into ways that are more and more like our Father.

The coping mechanisms that use to work for us worked because God loved us so much he couldn’t stand to see us hurt by removing those mechanisms. Had he taken away those ways of coping in our youth we would have suffered unnecessarily. As we have matured, God knows that we can handle the truth better now than before. We don’t need those coping mechanisms like we use to. Sure we would like them to continue working, but God’s love for us is such that he knows it is time for more of the real thing. He is that real thing.

Finding fulfillment in what we do, in our family, even in our church service is a temporary fix to a problem that is more profound than can be fixed by worldly efforts. We need something more than a quick fix. Thank God he loves us so that he allows our quick fix ways to work for a season. It is when the season changes that it is time to be a part of that change. Rejoice that your coping mechanisms don’t work any more and know it is because God sees you as able to handle more of a real relationship with him now more than ever before.

It’s OK to mourn the loss of that coping mechanism. It has served you well in the past. As you go through the mourning process, know this, the best is yet to come. We will never be fully fulfilled by God until we pass from this life to the next but we can find a greater level of fulfillment in who he is in our lives as we grow in relationship with him. Know that He is there loving you through the process of growth we all are on as his children.

If you wake up today to find that that thing that you use to do to make you feel OK about yourself or about the situation you find yourself in doesn’t work like it use to hang on tight! Your first reaction might be panic, or fear, or anger or doubt. Those are real and valid feelings that need to be dealt with from the place of a victor, not laced with victim thinking fallacies. Hang on to the fact that you are the beloved child of God and let Him be how you cope with this world that tries so hard to get you to doubt the victor that He has made you to be.

Day 67 – Judging Our Abilities

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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"Trying to judge what can be done in our life by analyzing our abilities limits God’s will because we see ourselves as limited by our negatives. This is the height of victim thinking."

As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 117.

Why is it so hard for us to be a realistic judge of our abilities? Haven’t you seen those singers trying out for the various TV shows looking for the next popular idol? So many of them have no singing ability at all but really believe that they are the next superstar. As bad, not to mention embarrassing, as it is to not be able to recognize how bad we are at something, it is tragic to fail  to move forward in this life because we don’t feel we are able enough to get done what God might be calling us to do.

I read once that is it so difficult to see the God-given talents in our own lives. At the same time it is so much easier to see those same God-given talents in the lives of others. I saw these statements come to life as a friend and I were sitting next to each other during a church teaching time one evening a few years ago.

In this meeting the teacher was speaking on love and on purpose. I can’t remember the exact connection between these two words, but I remember the discussion I had with my friend afterword. I said to my friend, “I don’t feel all that purposeful in my life.” In other words, I was expressing the fact that I kind of felt lost and didn’t think purpose played much of a role in my life. This friend what horrified at that statement. She told me that she thought I was one of the most purpose filled people she had ever met. She went on to give me three examples that she had personally witnessed that had real impact in her life that came about as a direct result of what she knew to be purpose flowing from my life. I was stunned!

She then went on to say that she didn’t feel particularly loving as a person. Now it was my turned to be horrified. This woman was one of the most loving people I had ever met. She was a mother and a sister to more people than I will ever know. I shared with her at least three examples of where I saw love being the foundation for things she had done in my life as well in the lives of others.

We both were shocked. Here a person who wasn’t feeling particularly loving was pouring love out on a person feeling less than purposeful. I’m beginning to think that God doesn’t want us to recognize the talents He has deposited in us for three reasons. First of all, by being in the lives of others, those talents will be recognized and reinforced in our own life. Secondly, I think that if we could see how talented God has made us pride might become a negative force when it comes to our effectiveness in God. The third reason God might not let us see the fullness of the goodness he has placed in our lives is found in today’s Bible reading.

Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 3:5-6 (NIV)

Not recognizing the competence he has placed in our lives because of the lack of proof, like the letter of the law, is a killer to faith. It is when we believe by the Spirit that life is given. God doesn’t need us to be competent, He needs is to be connected to Him and to others. It is through relationship that we will see the talents He has placed inside of us. It is through relationship with Him that those talents take on the power to have real and lasting change in this world.

If there is an area in your life where you think that you have it all going on so as to be ready to compete on a national stage against others with that same talent, make sure you aren’t fooling your self. Listen to the input from others and make sure you are judging your abilities in the best possible light.

On the other side of the spectrum, if you feel incompetent in an area where you believe God is leading you to be a part of, don’t let that feeling stop you from taking a chance. It just might be that God wants to be your strength in an area you feel weak so that maximum impact can be had. Remember, He is our Father. We are His children. It is as though our DNA is riddled with greatness. Want to know something, it is! That’s the destiny of the victory God has made you to be. His greatness is to shine in your life whether you can quantify that greatness yourself or not.

Day 66 – The Peace of Prosperity

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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"Prosperity comes when our souls are so invaded by peace that we allow the spirit of God, through us, to move us in ways we would never consider if it were left solely up to the self-consciousness aspect of our lives."

As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 112.

It is so easy to buy into the lie that we are not prosperous. Prosperity is such a personal thing. I’m not sure if we ever get to a place of contentment where we think we are prosperous. There is always someone who has more stuff than us and this fact makes it so easy to feel like we have missed the boat when it comes to prosperity.

Just as likely as it is that there is someone with more than us when it comes to prosperity, the reality is that there is an entire world full of people who are less prosperous than we are. It’s kind of like how you view the glass, do you view it half full or half empty. When it comes to prosperity it is so easy to view our glass as half empty. That makes it easier to be discontent. When discontentment lingers victim thinking is sure to follow.

I’m beginning to believe that prosperity has so much more to do with one aspect of our lives that has no connection what so ever with how much money, power, status or influence we might have. Prosperity is more about the issue of peace in my live as opposed to how much stuff I can say is mine. The reason I believe that peace is a better gauge of prosperity is that I’ve known plenty of people with way more assets than I will ever own that have lacked this all so important quality of life. The saying goes that all the money in the world can’t buy happiness. I believe that it is more accurate to say that money can’t purchase peace.

Here’s what the Bible says about the quality of peace.

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you. Isaiah 54:10 (NIV)

Prosperity based on things has no connection to the peace that is promised as a covenant from God in this verse. Worldly things that might bring some level of peace from time to time are threatened when the mountains are shook and when the hills are removed. In other words, worldly calamities are going to happen and that will change the value of any holdings that we consider the basis of our prosperity. Just like relying on worldly things to bolster our identity, allowing the value of our possessions be all that defines our level or prosperity is a sure fire way to allow victim thinking to rule in our lives.

There is nothing like peace in our soul to make us feel everything is going to be OK. Haven’t you had those moments when all hell is breaking loose only to take a deep breath and feel for a moment a peace that is hard to explain and even harder to duplicate? I believe that is the peace God says he provides as a covenant with those of us He calls His children. If I could package up that feeling of peace and sell it I would never have to worry about the financial side of prosperity again. People would line up for miles to get a sample of the peace in the soul that we all experience from time to time.

It is during those times of turmoil when we experience moments of that soul guarding peace that we somehow catch our breath and are able to move ahead one more step in the mess that works so hard to bring us down. When we really boil it all down, we don’t need more stuff, we need more peace in our souls. I believe that kind of peace is there for those of us wanting to live this life as God’s Child. That peace is the victory that victors in God’s eyes need more than success in what they do.

How do we get that peace? Ah, there’s the billion dollar question. I believe there is not set answer to that question. The peace that reaches down deep in the soul isn’t something that can be obtained by applying some kind of formula. It is a gift from God. Like any gift, we have to receive it, open it and put it to use.

As you go about your day today working to find what prosperity means in your life how about doing something a little different. Why not let peace in the soul be what defines prosperity for your life.? This might be a particularly powerful strategy as the world comes against you in ways that make you doubt your ability to ever grasp what you think you need for prosperity to be in your life.

When the attacks come against you, sit back, close your eyes, take a deep breath and get into touch with the peace in your soul that I believe is already there waiting for you to tap into it’s powerful reserves. Though that peace might not change your situation immediately, I do believe that it will provide the rest you might need at that moment to push on and overcome the forces that are waring against you today. Peace is promised to you, God’s child. Look for that peace. Grab for all you can get and let the chips fall where they may with regards to the physical things that the world wants to use to define how prosperous you are in your life.

Day 65 - Freedom

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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“As we begin to take the cost of our freedoms for granted, any perceived or actual limitations to what we want to do is seen as a personal assault resulting in victimhood. “

As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 9.

Oh how easy it is to forget that freedom isn’t free - freedom always comes at a price. The fact that the cost of freedom isn’t always paid by each individual makes it so easy to let victim thinking take over when we forget that there was a cost that someone had to pay for the freedom you enjoy today.

Taking freedom for granted can put us in a place where we think we are the center of the universe, thereby making it so easy for us to find offense at every turn. Our growing dependence on victimization in our Victim Based Society is a result of this fact happening right before our eyes.

Sadly, this isn’t a new occurrence. I believe that the entire history of mankind has been filled with victim thinking that has resulted from taking our freedoms (or good life)  for granted. Check out today’s Bible verse below;

When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me. Hosea 13:6 (NIV)

Look at the pattern that results in victim thinking. When we are in a place where we have great needs and those needs are met we find ourselves filled with a sense of satisfaction. At first, that satisfaction is tempered with thanksgiving. Going from starving to death to having a full belly will bring you to a place of gratefulness in an instant. But stay too long in that place of satisfaction and pride results.

Pride always points to self. When we are filled with pride we begin to believe that feeling of satisfaction is a “right” and anything that might come against that right becomes a terrible offense. Offense brings us to victimization and, if we stay there for too long, victim thinking is the result.

What today’s verse really points out is that when we are satisfied and are in a place of pride, we then forget the provider of that satisfaction in the first place. That’s what happens when we take freedom for granted. We forget the great cost someone had to pay for that freedom in the first place. When freedom is cheap, we are much more likely to think we deserve that freedom and are victimized at every turn when we believe that freedom might be challenged in any way.

Victors work hard to live in freedom without letting pride control their lives. They realize that when pride comes in we all are in danger of going to a place where victim thinking can take control. It’s not that victors are immune to pride, it is that they just know that pride brings them to a place where the power of victor living can be forfeited in an instant.


Today you have a choice. You can either be satisfied and risk pride to usher in victim thinking or you can choose to live like a victor and live out your day in a place of thanksgiving. Be thankful for the freedom you have every moment you can today. That spirit of thanksgiving is what fights back the “hounds of hell” trying to bring the darkness of taking your freedom for granted. The more you cherish your freedom, and the cost of that freedom, the more you will live like a victor no matter what the circumstances of life look like today.