“As our church prepares for time of prayer and fasting, as well as our Victory Weekend (a time of spiritual cleansing of the soul and a time to seek God for deliverance from some of greatest challenges), I have found myself looking internally at the things I know God desires to relieve and release me from. While this is a normal blog, I desperately desire that God would create in me and in others a “Vision for Victory.” Join me as we consider the war that lies ahead.”
If you are like me, then you love to see a classic battle. Whether it’s military battles that demonstrates all the strategic and tactical efforts necessary to win a single battle out in the theater of war, or a classic clash of the titans on the athletics fields and/or arenas through out this world, or even the proverbial super bowl commercial wars that draw just as much attention as the game itself. There seems to be a natural attraction by many to see competition at its highest level, by fierce opponents who both want to win.
In Romans 7:7-25, the Apostle Paul talks about the most fierce battle we will ALL participate in, and that is the battle with “SELF.” Later we will look in greater detail at some of the wars Paul mentions, but before that I would love to ask something personal. “What are the wars that wage within you?” “Who is your enemy in your wars, and what is your strategy for VICTORY?”
If I may use my limited military terminology, there seems to be battles in life that we fight over and over again. There are certain battles that we have been deployed and redeployed to fight over and over again. But shouldn’t we grow tired of just fighting in the battle? Does something inside that cry, “I want to win the war.” Do you want the spoils of victory, or a badge for being in the battle? Do you desire to know what victory tastes like? If so then it starts with us.
Our greatest battle will be with ourselves. We must constantly battle our emotions, thoughts, past, pains and lusts, to name a few. Aristotle, an ancient Greek philosopher says, “ I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self.” In my life this is so true.
The ultimate outcome matters not on how hard the struggle may have been. Regardless of the tactical mastery or even the sheer guts and determination displayed in war; what matters most is that a war must be won. We must desire to find Victory in self before we can experience victory anywhere else.
I ask that you join me in this journey to find a “Vision for Victory.”
Blessings,
Darryl
