Tag Archives: overcoming

June 7
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“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33, NIV)

The disciple of Jesus should fear only one thing: The displeasure of his or her heavenly Father. 

Our world is a marketplace of fear and trouble.  If we forget for even a moment that God is bigger than any trouble or peril we shall ever face in our lifetime, we will lose heart.

Jesus has plainly told us that we will face trouble in this world, so any trouble we encounter should not come as a surprise. However, He has also told us that we should not fear or lose heart: “I have overcome the world.”

Face each day with this confidence!  – Luther

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May 10
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“Jesus replied, ‘What is impossible with man is possible with God.'” (Luke 18: 27, NIV)

Make no mistake about it, there are impossibilities in this life.  To act or to say otherwise is to risk doing ourselves, and those who get their cues from us, a great deal of harm. Each day presents its own challenges, and we do well to weigh whether we have the time, the strength, the wisdom, the funds, or the alliances and allegiances to prevail. Doing so brings us to the point where we know, without a doubt, that if we are to succeed in the task before us, it must be “with God.”

 Jesus reminds us today (as He did the disciples 2,000 years ago) that where we will utterly fail by ourselves; with God, we can achieve, succeed, and prevail. 

The child of God is never — never — in the realm of impossibility when mindful of his/her heavenly Father.  – Luther

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April 11
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“‘Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine [Goliath] will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.’ Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the Lord be with you.'” (1 Samuel 17:36-37, NIV)

Yesterday, we were encouraged to use our memory of God’s goodness to provoke us to be grateful.  Today’s scripture encourages us to use our memory of God’s faithfulness to provoke us to trust and faith in our heavenly Father — at all times, and in every circumstance.

David’s faith, confidence, and courage at the great, public moment of his confrontation with Goliath had as its foundation the lesser, private moments in his life when God had been equally faithful.  God’s power and faithfulness is no less when we’re facing a giant before an audience of thousands, than it is when we were confronting ordinary foes in the wilderness. 

When facing the giant (whatever or whomever it might be), recall our heavenly Father’s faithfulness and power in the less public periods of your life.  It will give you the faith, the confidence, and the courage you need to overcome!  – Luther

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