Are You Overcome, or Overcoming?
There are times in life when we are hurting or overcome by the troubles of life. And it seems that the worst hurts, more than any other, are hurts of the heart. I’ve seen many people suffer from these kinds of hurts and never recover.
But there’s one thing we know – God loves us, He has a good plan for our lives, and He doesn’t want us to be hurting. When troubles threaten to overcome you, remember that John 10:10 says that Jesus came so you could have abundant life!
Your Answer’s in the Word
So what can we do when we feel overcome by feelings or circumstances? What can we do when we’re hurting?
First of all, we can check our love walk. That may sound strange, but it’s vital. Often when we’re hurting it involves another person. Are you harboring any unforgiveness against someone who may have hurt you? Mark 11:25 says, “...if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop (leave it, let it go), in order that your Father Who is in heaven may also forgive you….”
It doesn’t matter if the person involved deserves forgiveness or not – do it for your heart, and because God says to. Let Him deal with them – you let it go. Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the other guy to die – it’s killing you! When you let it go, you are beginning to overcome.
Once you’re sure your heart is free from any unforgiveness, realize that your answers lie in the Word of God. I can remember a time after my husband Brent died that I would open my Bible and read it by running my finger down the words, like a 5-year-old learning to read. I drank in the Word. When I was feeling overcome, I knew the Word was my lifeline. The Bible is not just any book; it’s God talking to you. It’s alive (Heb. 4:12). It brings light (revelation) into your life (Ps. 119:130).
The Word is always your answer! It’s never failed in the history of mankind, and it’s not going to fail now in your situation. Cling to it. Dig into it. Saturate your spirit in it.
And let me interject here…don’t just quote the Word. Look at it. Read it. Get fresh manna from it every day. Yesterday’s faith isn’t enough for today’s battle. Let the Word dwell in you richly (Col. 3:16).
Keep the Faith!
It's so important not to let emotions dominate us. Yes, we have emotions – they are nothing to be ashamed of. But they are so fluctuating, so changeable that we don’t want to be led around by them.
There are people who’ve had hurtful things happen to them and they never really rebound. That’s scary to me! It really can happen! We must fight against it. We must keep our faith, keep our minds shored up with the Word. It's the only difference between overcomers and those who get overcome.
Life has real and true battles to fight, but it's a matter of letting GOD paint the picture of your future, instead of the readily-available picture of gloom that the devil wants to paint.
It takes effort to keep the faith when hurts threaten to overcome you, but you can do it! In all these things you are more than a conqueror through Him who loves you (Rom. 8:37). Rise up, take hold of God’s Word, and determine to be an overcomer!
