When Victory Walked out the Door
By Elin Henderson
“But
thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through Jesus Christ our LORD.”
1 Corinthians
15:57 (NIV,
emphasis added)
Can you remember a day when victory
walked out the door? The people you were counting on let you down. The money
you desperately needed never came in. The armies you had built up were slowly
demolished and there you were left standing, alone. “Impossible” just got
ramped up to a new level!
Did you find yourself chasing after
the defectors, begging them to return? Filling the gaps with whatever resources
you could dig up? Barring the door so they couldn’t escape? We find many ways
to try and make up the difference between our current difficulty and what we
consider “victory.”
Yet, God is always challenging us and
finding creative ways to get rid of the human element, in order to show us a
better way to victory. This “letting go” of our human resources, our well-made
plans, our “victory” stash is never easy, is it? Whether we are the widow with
the last bit of oil and Elijah asks for some bread (1 Kings
17:8-16),
or Gideon when God pares down his army of tens of thousands to mere hundreds (Judges
7:1-7),
God has His ways of bringing us to the end of ourselves and our well-planned
resources. It appears that victory is walking out the door, but God is waiting
to bring in a better, more incredibly victorious plan!
It is in the faith-filled surrender, which
willingly lets go when all of your being is screaming to hang on tighter, that
we find true victory. So, keep the doors open. If people desert you, your
resources dry up or your plans fall apart, don’t lose heart. Let them go,
resting in the fact that God will use that same door to usher in a victory
unlike one you have ever seen.
GOING DEEPER:
1. Are you facing any
difficulties right now?
2. What can you do to keep
reminding yourself to keep the door of your heart open for God’s plans?
FURTHER READING:
