Category: Devotional Encouragement

What is victory?

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“I got to tell her that I couldn’t do that, only God could heal her hand!” Juliana (my 9 yr old), says excitedly to me at 10 PM last night. “Whaaaaa!!??!! That is so awesome!!!! . . . Now, it’s time to go to bed.” Kids always seem to pull out the best conversation AFTER bedtime – haha. At school her friend was telling her about her sprained wrist, and she told her how they had prayed for mine on Saturday and it was healed (power in testimony!). So her friend said, “You can pray for mine if you want.” God is so good! That’s a win!

So what’s the difference between a win and a victory? Ultimately, we are seeking victory. Wins are awesome, but they’re also momentary. With God, what is the victory? Here’s some insight . . .

“This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. . . . This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” (1 Jn. 5:2,4 NIV)

To love Father God, His Son and from that place to love His kids, builds our faith and that is the victory. However, I’ve had wins that caused me to celebrate a little too much in MY heart and not continue to press in to HIS heart. There was nothing wrong with the win, but my response to it did not produce victory – and that’s the difference. God will want to give us more wins, when we are stewarding those wins to drive us deeper into His heart. I have had losses that demoralized me and I didn’t dive deeper into God’s heart either. Neither the wins or losses are as important as how we are stewarding them. Are we allowing both wins and losses to push us deeper into God’s heart? Because that is the victory. We can live in a state of victory with eternity written on hearts (Eccl 3:11) as we do that.

So, celebrate the wins, learn from the losses and use both as motivation to dive deeper into God’s heart – that’s the victory.

Do you feel God?

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Snot everywhere, tears spitting out with the convulsions of grief, joy, hope and embrace that filled my soul and that was just at the “box of chocolates” line in Forrest Gump – haha. Sometimes our feelings can get triggered by the silliest things, and then don’t get triggered when they should, and we feel like a lifeless robot. For better or worse lifelessness is life without feelings. God created us to experience life with our five senses (six, if you count sense of direction – but mine left the moment GPS came around – haha), and our emotions. Our bodies are wired for compassion and elation, for anger, sadness and profound contentment.

So, when was the last time you felt God? I sense (haha) a couple of you tensing up just reading that J. Here are some thoughts as to why that is, and how we let God win in our senses . . .

God is not a feeling. God is love (love isn’t feeling either – haha), but He’s bigger than love – love serves God’s desires. Therefore our feelings also submit to God and His Word. Feelings can be deceptive (Jer 17:9).

God is greater than your feelings. John 3:20 – it’s a thing. God owns that area too and He will operate in our feelings areas more when we align ourselves with His purpose there.

God works in your feelings. You’ve experienced God before in this way – there was a rush of happy tears for freedom or sorrow for sin or joy that caused you to move out of your emotional box with [insert response – laughing, shouting, jumping, clapping, dancing]. These kinds of responses are normal all over the Bible – Jesus had them, the apostles had them, and everyone who interacted with them did. Feelings can provide a gateway for God to work (Prov 21:2, Phil 4:7).

When we don’t feel God that doesn’t mean He’s not around, and when we do feel Him that doesn’t mean we’re super Christians. So open your whole being to God and you will feel Him. He’ll prove that He’s here, that He’s on your side, that He’s love, and if you ask He’ll probably give you words and marching orders that move you beyond feelings. So open your whole being to God right now, quiet your mind, ask Holy Spirit to come, and stay there until you’re ready to take Him with you.