Operating from Faith and Victory

Is anyone having a HARD TIME these days? I think we ALL are! Let’s be real. I want to provide REAL answers, not trite platitudes that often circulate in the “church world.”

Many times, when people these days ask for prayer to half-strangers on social media, what they mean is “someone do all the work for me.” And I get why that is: besides general laziness, often when a person is asking for prayer they are already in a defeated state. It is good to be challenged, even confronted, but not defeated. Praying from fear and defeat is at best, good to at least get you started moving in prayer, but is not going to carry you into the touchdown end zone of victory.

If you are praying from a defeated mindset, a helpless attitude, then you’re NOT in alignment with heaven. Faith is coming to your GOOD Father, who truly does want the best for you. It is also knowing that this goodness being done in your life is NOT automatic — despite having a good heavenly Father and His amazing promises.

You can’t ask God for help or for others to pray ONLY TO STAY a victim. Only to give up on “pulling the roap” in your side of this spiritual tug-of-war. You have to keep pulling for all you are worth! But then be IN FAITH (includes emotions but is far deeper than human emotion), so that then GOD’S POWER comes IN… AROUND… and THROUGH you so you are sill pulling, but now you are pulling with GOD’s STRENGTH through you in your situations. Asking God for help USUALLY does not mean you don’t have to keep pulling for all you are worth. Don’t be passive; keep standing! Keep pulling!

Ask God to give you MORE FAITH. To give you an OVERCOMING mindset. The attitude of victory that is GUARANTEED to be the perspective of Heaven. We do fight. We do have substantial challenges, and also illusion challenges that just APPEAR to be bigger than us. When we are WEAK in ourself, we are STRONG in God — strong in God’s SPIRIT.

But if you make some mental or even EMOTIONAL agreement with being defeated or a victim… then you are NOT in faith and NOT going to receive. You’re simply not lined up for the promises and PROVISIONS from heaven, to freely flow into your life.

If this was easy, then we would not need to talk about it.

Just giving a FRIENDLY reminded, to SNAP OUT of the defeated and victim mode. Our enemy LOVES to trigger us into a defeated state. That is almost always because YOU STANDING IN FAITH can INDEED QUICKLY defeat the demons behind the hard situations in your life, and THEY know that, but they don’t want YOU to know it.

I think that often God ALLOWS hard situations, overwhelming situations even, to come to us. This happened MANY times in the Old Testament with those Canaanite tribes attacking and very much outnumbering the Israelites. Fear will convince you of defeat, but FAITH will connect you to God’s strength and strategy for your specific situation.

Through these historic events in the Bible, we have a training manual for victory. In these examples for us, Israel HAD to run to God in desperation for “help!”. God knows you need help. God IS sufficient, but there are often MISALIGNMENTS. And that is the word I am using for it.

I say it that way because most of the time (not always) you DO have the key to open the door. Have you ever had times with literal door lock and key where they key, the right key, does not go easily into the lock. Where it needs to be JIGGLED a bit. Like that. We can be close, but just like that key is a bit MECHANICALLY misaligned with the lock, we can be SPIRITUALLY misalinged. We’re so close but it all depends on that last little BIT. You MIGHT BE so close to victory — closer than you know, closer than you FEEL you are.

I just want to encourage us all (myself too) to continue to PRESS IN. To stand firm in the Spiritual Armor BOOTS OF THE GOOD NEWS. To fight, but fight FROM victory, not in order to grasp desperately after some elusive victory. Not from emotional desperation.

We can and should admit our feelings, BUT NOT TO STAY STUCK in those feelings. We then IMMEDIATELY claim the truth of God, the promises of God and the VICTORY of God. We pray that whatever crisis-fixing, whatever provision, etc is FULLY CONVEYED FROM HEAVEN TO EARTH. (to state the obvious: we HAVE to know the Word of God in order to call forth the PROMISES of God in His Word). Read Psalm 40 for a good example of this movement from crisis to victory through faith in God.

Remember that God WANTS to give you the victory, so don’t agree with any of the enemy’s lies that Father God does not know or care about you. Kick self-pity TO THE CURB! STAND in your spiritual victory as God’s child — whether you feel that victory or see it coming… YET. It IS on its way. God ALLOWS this to strengthen you. God is not late or heartless. God is not withholding goodness.

God is training you to overcome THIS present situation (financial, emotional, mental, health, relationship, etc.). Training you to overcome SO THAT you can use this strength, this track record of God’s faithfulness in your life, to OVERCOME and enjoy victory in the crisis around the corner that you don’t even see yet, but God sees is coming.

Hardships are not there to set you up for defeat, but to set you up for VICTORY IN HIMSELF. Sometimes this is easy to believe, and sometimes it is emotionally distant and seems unreal. Remember it is REAL. God IS FAITHFUL, whether you can see or feel it in any given moment.

We do have enemies. Satan and his demons, yes. Actual witches in human form and their hate/envy/conniving. Techno witchcraft that may come from humans, from demons, or just be in the electromagnetic field around you, around your block, your city.

Ask God for clarity, for wisdom, for understanding, friends. And RESIST that helpless/victim mindset. Jesus ALREADY overcame, so run INTO Jesus as your strong tower, your mighty fortress, your victorious HERO. Hardship is actually our OPPORTUNITY to know Jesus as our Faithful HERO. Stand in this truth.