Impossible Victory

Consider this; we are as weak today as the day of our Salvation. We never become strong enough to sustain ourselves. Whatever we can do on our own, without God, is not of God. For what He purposes for us to do, we cannot do on our own, without Him.

Perhaps you are a professional, a parent, business owner, or construction worker; your station in life is irrelevant in comparison to your view of God and understanding what His purpose is for your life.

The day you realize everything is about what God has and can do for you, is the day your life will begin to transform.

What you are about to read lies in the deep recesses of Deborah’s heart. You cannot get more transparent than this. The grace of God enables us, through obedience, to respond uniquely to grief.

As I pose a question; from a heart that was broken and then beautified through the Word of God, prayerfully allow Him to open your eyes to what He wants to teach and then direct you towards.

On May 19 of this year, my father was in a serious car accident. His life ended nine days later. Living more than nine thousand miles away seemed almost unbearable. Using this time of sorrow to redefine the direction of my life, is a decision that has since had a profound impact.

This is a mini-memoir of the life and passing away of a father. He fulfilled a unique purpose on this earth. He was a gift to his children and grandchildren. Far from flawless, he exemplified greatness in his day-to-day life. The consistency of day-to-day goodness makes a great man or woman. He was great in his daily conduct. Through maturity and understanding, I have begun to mirror my father as I weave and apply the principles that governed his life, throughout my day.

He spoke of God’s Word continually.

His garments and grooming were poised and polished. Always courteous, he conducted his life discreetly as he cared for the needs of others. He took life’s challenges and pitfalls to prayer. Dad’s faith was real and transferable. He set an example of what patience and endurance during adversity ought to be. He patterned morals and manners.

Since the accident, I have embraced each day with the specific purpose to seek wisdom and instruction from the Word of God. Our goal is to grow beyond grief and transfer what we learn onto other women.

It costs to grow and it is worth it.

When you lose control of your life consequentially or accidentally, the outcome varies according to the steps we take immediately following the event and over the next few weeks during our shock and numbness. Life altering events are a conduit for use or abuse. If we do not allow God to move us upward in life, then when the dust settles, we go backward in life.

Growing pains are essential. Joy comes when we overcome.

Life is full of good and bad experiences. Three cycles are in continuance - the beginning of a tough time, the midst of a tough time, or having just come through a tough time. This pattern repeats itself continually.

Understand, that we win great victories long before anyone notices. In the solitude of our home, the private victories fashion the greater victories. There are hard things to learn in life and on our worst days we have the potential to overcome some of our biggest challenges. It is possible to change our lives through a Divine perspective.

I have outlined a few select verses that remind me of God's strength and how we can have daily access to it when we are hurting. Embracing them will have a life-changing purpose. How they will empower you to have victory during the impossible rests on your ability to let go of your life and allow God to take control of everything.

Applying these lessons is a daily exercise of our faith. How do we grow in our faith or use what little faith we have? Faith comes by hearing the Word of God and in our willingness to apply it to our lives through an act of obedience. Read your bible aloud and listen to the preaching each week. Your faith will grow, as will your desire for obedience.

If you have reached the crossroad of your life and change is in the wind, do not go back to old ways and habits. If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always have. Nothing will change for you if you figuratively go back to the ways you came from.

The following verses are a portion of what I have personally armed myself with during some of the toughest days of my life.

• Psalms 18:2 “The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower."

God has many ways to help and He will. Our faith is for exercising. If need be, flex your faith multiple times during the day. How do we do this? Through reading His Word (His heart), pouring our complaint out to God (not man) and being specific when we pray. When we apply the preaching of God’s Word each week with a resolve to overcome, we will then have victory. Victory does not mean a change of circumstances. Our heart will be won through a change of attitude.

We grow to know and understand the preciousness of God when we read and apply His Word. God must be the object of our faith or our faith is mere presumption.

• Psalms 18:32 "It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect."
• Psalms 27:1 "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

When we trust Christ as our Saviour then the byproducts change our life day after day. He is our joy, comfort, guide, teacher, and in every sense, our light. Our life must derive all its strength from God.

• Psalms 29:11 “The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace."

God governs everything. We must not forget this. He completes His own purposes despite our inadequacies or weaknesses.

The Psalms is full of God’s promises repeating aloud; in our weakness we grow to understand that our strength comes from Him alone. We are only ever strong when we govern the affairs of our life for Him and through Him. We cannot make it without Him! God has designed for us to experience His peace each day regardless of the circumstances of our life. This is a direct result of our obedience to the reading of His Word. Our faith reflects the choices we make. There is a blessing when we seek Him.

• Psalms 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

This verse is a covenant blessing and teaches us to take comfort in God when things look very black and threatening. We all have a black day. This means, it is not merely to look at but to also appropriate. God loves us to employ Him. The more burdens we put on His shoulders the more precious He becomes to us.

Trust and wait on Him. Be patient. God is present---helping us to bear trouble, to improve it, and to survive it.

• Psalms 73:26 " My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever."

Our experience of God's all sufficiency are fullest and highest when created comforts fail us. As we stand in our greatest need He is then able to pass on His Divine influence and relief. The frailty of our flesh produces the flourishing of our faith.

• Psalms 105:4 “Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore." Seek, seek, and seek Him.

We have the word "seek" repeated and though the words differ in the Hebrew the sense is the same. We can be confident of a blessing. To seek His face is to desire His presence, His smile, and His favor, which we will consciously enjoy. The more we know the more we must seek to know. 

We fetch our strength from God through faith and prayer. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God and through obedience. When you read the Scriptures, recite them aloud. 

How Can We Seek The Lord's Strength? By desiring to be subject to His Word and supported by it. The Scriptures equip us for service and being in tune with His strength through others.

The cadence of learning God’s heart and seeking to apply what He is teaching us to our lives every day, ought to be a perpetual occupation.

Let God be God in your life and stop trying to run things by your own steam. We cannot make it without Him. Remember, whatever we can do on our own, without God, is not of God. For what He purposes for us to do, we cannot do on our own, without Him.

Regardless of where you are in life, do not wait for the dark days to know God’s sustaining strength. God is no respecter of persons. His blessings are available and we all have access to Him – daily!

You are not alone in your grief. Someone has gone before you as an example of perfect love and sacrifice. God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for the sins of mankind. He sacrificed His life so that we may live ours eternally. There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.

Then there are those who have gone before you in grief and who have come through the other side of their suffering with a better understanding of how weak all of us truly are. Look at the bigger picture. Joy will come. Be patient with yourself and patient with what God is doing in your life. There are no “Whoops” with God.

In finishing, imagine your life as a spiritual gas tank. When you feel empty, where do you go? We all learn to read the needle regardless of how low we allow the fuel to evaporate. For some of us, half empty sends us bolting for a refill. Unfortunately, for others the reserve dries out long before the need is acknowledged. On the outside we may look polished and in peak performance. However, on the inside we all have the same need.

Our spiritual lives run on God’s strength - not ours. Just as sure as our car needs fuel to operate, we need Christ to manage our lives. We will never grow strong enough to sustain ourselves. We love to exalt ourselves. Life is always going to be a contest with self and learning to push self aside and exalt God is the goal.

Do not just survive life. Victory and survival look the same on the outside. When we survive the Christian life we always have an attitude. People with this mentality go around with an unpleasant outlook. Victory always reflects joy and people who are in this manner go about with an engaging presence.

God anointed us with the oil of gladness not sadness. Psalm 100:2 says, “Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.”

Ask God for the grace to enable you to handle your problems.

In His Strength,

Deborah