Victory

It seemed like everything had stopped at once. Our two foster boys got to go home. Both of our homeschool co-ops were dismissed for winter break. My two little ones finished up their semester. My once busy schedule, planned down to the hour, now had wide open days with NOTHING written on them for days at a time. It was the perfect time to have surgery and recover. It seemed that the season I was in, spiritually speaking, was one of recovering from surgery, too. 

The quiet was unsettling, and slowly, questions started to surface in my heart: “Who was I when all my doing stopped?” “What am I going to do with the rest of my life?” “Am I where I want to be?” “Do I like where I am?” The quiet got really loud, and I noticed that I was confusing my identity with what I was doing. Though my current “assignment” involved rest, rest couldn’t be who I was. I was challenged to settle what had gotten mixed up in my mind.  

The battle in my mind continued: “Surely I’m finished with this mountain. It seems so big this time around.” I began to declare what I knew to be true. I prayed. I reached out for prayer from close friends. I worshipped, and I cried.

I’ve been studying the Prison Epistles (Global University) this month. As I read, I felt encouraged. I wondered if Paul ever thought he wasted any of his years in prison. I wondered if he spent time thinking of all the things God could do through him and if he could actually go to Philippi instead of remaining in Rome. I wondered if before he rejoiced that the other ministers who preached Christ from wrong motives, he struggled, like me, with the fear and concern that Christ’s name would suffer in any way from their ill will or ignorance. Yet the highlight reel that Paul presented to the world through his Holy Spirit-inspired pen resounded very loudly: REJOICE! 

Enter my heart check. Ouch! Rejoice. He settled on rejoice. Rejoice! As if Christ’s beautiful name needed his defense. He rejoiced it was preached. I suppose if God can use the jaw bone of a donkey to talk to his people, he can use the most exalted name on earth in anyone’s mouth. It didn’t matter if I trusted them, liked their ministry, or agreed with their non-salvation issues. It was my perspective that needed a shift. I needed to see God for who He was to rejoice like Paul. Petty disagreements from my wounded past seemed to surface in the loudness of my quiet, and the mountain I was staring at now seemed bigger than just WHO I was. This mountain wasn’t just about my opinions. It was about me walking in victory. And I was shrinking back. I actually felt myself shrink back. 

Philippians was written to a struggling church that needed a perspective shift… like me. Philippians was written to a church that needed encouragement… like me. If I was going to be like Caleb and have a spirit that would boldly proclaim, “Give me this mountain!” (Joshua 14) I needed to take in what Paul had to say. What really mattered to Paul was knowing Christ. Since that’s also my goal, I read on. I found that Paul got to the point in his life when his present level of attainment and past successes didn’t satisfy him anymore. In Philippians 3, he gives us five elements that will help us walk in victory. These were listed in my studies:

“If we are going to walk in victory, we must face our deficiencies. (3:12-13)”

I know I’m a people pleaser. I think too much about what others think. This isn’t a surprise to me. It’s a reality I’m learning to submit to Christ so that He remains in His right place. I will be more intentional about being more concerned about what Christ thinks about me than I am with other people’s opinions. I can trust that He will meet me here in my weakness. 

“If we are going to walk in victory, we must focus on the prize. (3:12)”

My goal is to know Christ and be like Him. I don’t want to miss anything He has for me. If my goal is only to be a great mom or wife or excel in ministry, I could miss the opportunities He has for me to be like Him in my pursuit of those things. I must pursue Him so as not to miss anything He has. I must seek Him first in all things and pay close attention to notice the difference in my attitude if things start to change. It’s so easy to shift focus. I must remain adamant. I must stand firm. We must stand firm! 

“If we are going to walk in victory, we must forget the past. (3:13)”

My textbook read, “Do not look back on your successes, as wonderful as they may have been. Forget your failures, the disasters, the disappointments. Forget the excuses. Learn from them and move on.” I declare this statement throughout my life: Christ still has a vision for me, even if I can’t. His plans haven’t been messed up, His purposes haven’t changed. I must quit looking for Him to use me the way I think He should or even for how He has used me in the past. If I constantly look back, I will miss how He needs to equip me for this new season. Look forward with me, friends! 

“If we are going to walk in victory, we must forge ahead. (3:13-14)”

Paul tells us to strain toward what is ahead. There is a prize better than gold at the end of our finish line. The prize is still as worth every effort now as it was years ago when I tasted salvation for the first time. We must keep going. We must keep moving. We must keep making the most of every opportunity and look for ways to serve. No opportunity is too small. We must be faithful.

“If we are going to walk in victory, we must forgo comparisons. (3:15)”

“Many people never know victory because they are so busy looking at everyone else, they lose sight of the objective.”

The truth is we aren’t in competition with anyone. When we recognize that, we are free to grow into who we were created to be. I won’t ever teach like Pastor Scott, play piano like my friend Diane, or sing like Austin. But I’m going to be everything Christ created me to be because I’m looking to Him. 

Christ has given me everything I need to walk in victory. As I look at my empty schedule, I must ask for His perspective. He’s looking at a vast open space to move mightily in and through me. And if I let Him have His way, I will yield by following the direction He gives us in His Word. 

Can I encourage you today to rejoice right where you are? Let’s face our deficiencies, focus on the prize, forget the past, forge ahead, and forgo comparisons. Let’s overcome together and see a victory!