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Faith is the Victory

When I encounter hopelessness and depression I have to do something more than engage in fight or flight. Psalm 143 shows me a better way. There I see the Psalmist David is desperate. He cries out, "O Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief." (verse 1) Like David, I must admit I sometimes feel like declaring, "my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed" (verse 4).

As I continue to meditate on Psalm 143 I see that not only does David identify with my needs but he also shares some very practical steps to live victoriously when it seems that the world is falling apart. He says, "I remember the days of long ago" (verse 5). There I see that the first step for victoriously living, David says, is recalling the situations God brought me through in the past as I trusted Him when the situation seemed hopeless. (Example, 1 Sam.30:1-20)

The second thing David does is to meditate not only on the promise of God's Word but also upon the wonders of His works. This includes not only God's miraculous intervention in times of hopelessness but also the works and wonders of His creation. The wonders of God's works go far beyond creation. As John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life".

Remembering and meditating on God's works is important if it leads to direct action. In David's case, that direct action first involved earnest prayer. "I spread out my hands to You; my soul thirsts for You like a parched land" (verse 6). There I see that real prayer springe from a thirsting desire for God. It's an inward cry of "answer me quickly, O Lord; my spirit fails. Do not hide Your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit" (vs.7).

As you and I pray, we must pray trusting God and His goodness and love. Such faith causes us to profess our trust in the Lord and our desire to do His will. "Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul" (verse 8). "Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground" (verse 10).

This level ground involves having faith in the victory Jesus provides. In order to do this we must be fully persuaded that, "This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he (and she) who believes that Jesus is the Son of God" (1 John 5:4,5). The fact that Jesus took our sins upon Himself and, on the cross, conquered death through His physical resurrection, is what equips us to have faith in the victory He has already provided.

As we get older and our bodies get weaker it becomes increasingly critical that we are able to be fully persuaded that God is able to give us the victory we need. Moses had to learn this as he was called forth at the age of eighty to deliver the children of Israel from captivity. Abraham had to accept the fact that God was able to make him the father of a great nation when he was over ninety years of age. Romans 4:21 says that Abraham was "being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised."

If we are going to accomplish that which God has called us to do we must believe that God can grant us victory despite the circumstances. We must accept the words that Paul declared in Eph. 3:20 when he stated, "now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more that all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us."

In order to understand this power at work in us we must know what it means to be in Christ Jesus. II Cor. 5:17 says, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

This power is a result of repenting of our sins and committing our life to Jesus and exercising faith in His direction. As a result we are not just reformed, rehabilitated or reeducated, but we are recreated (a new creation) living in union with Jesus Christ. "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness" (Col. 2:6, 7).

If we have faith in the victory of Christ's resurrection then there is no limit to what God can do through us. Sure, we encounter difficulties but "we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen, is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (II Cor. 4:16-18).

Now we must let the Word of God go down deep into our hearts until we are fully persuaded that God loves us and will meet every need we are facing. "Remember we live by faith, not by sight" (II Cor. 5:6). "In the power of God: with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;" (II Cor. 6:7).

When we are feeling depressed, Satan is right there to try to bring us further down by telling us how worthless we are. We can't afford to forget that faith in the resurrected Christ is the victory, which enables us to stand firm and overcome the devil. As Rev. 12:11 says, "They overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb (Jesus) and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives as much as to shrink from death."

Whether it is bloodshed in the streets and in the classrooms, or families being ripped apart along with the fabric of democracy, everywhere we look we see the need for victory over the powers of darkness. Remember I John 5:4 says, "This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith” (NIV).

Rev. 12 explains why we are witnessing the grapes of wrath, which are more bitter than ever, now being harvested across the land. Rev. 12 verse 12 declares, "Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you! He is filled with fury because he knows that his time is short." Verse 17 goes on to say that Satan makes war with the people of God, "who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."

This war is explained further in Ephesians 6:12 where it says, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

One of the more effective weapons these powers of darkness use is fear. Because Jesus has defeated Satan we do not need to fear. "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7).

Now we must by faith use these gifts of power, love, and a sound mind to resist the devil and he will flee from us (James 4:7).

It is faith, in Jesus, which gives us the power to pray the Word of God and destroy the works of the devil. Acts 4:31, 32 tells us the result of the prayers of the early church “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”

As believers who have the authority to defeat Satan and his works of darkness through the blood of Jesus Christ and the word of our testimony, we must, "Have faith in God,’ Jesus said, ’Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours" (Mark 11:22-24).

Unless we live and "Walk by faith, and not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7), we will live in defeat and brokenness.

2 Corinthians 10:3,4 declares, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down of strongholds."

These strongholds can be personal addictions, lust, or self-centered driving ambitions. Strongholds can also be cultural where society has been gripped by ungodly values that are destroying the fabric of that community. In 2 Corinthians 10:5 we are told that we are to use the divine power Christ has given us to destroy, "speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God. bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."

If we want victory over the power of Satan's strongholds of darkness and hopelessness, we need to stop listening to the crazy tapes of negativism that frequently play in our minds. In order to do this, we must take every thought captive to the obedience to Christ.

A stronghold develops when one starts believing the lies of Satan rather than the promises of God. That is why we must know the promises given to us in the word of God. It is there we discover we "can do all things through Christ who strengthen us" (Philippians 4:13), as we set our "minds on the things above and not on the things of the earth" (Colossian 3:2).

Paul knew that the mind is the gateway to the soul, and it is there Satan wants to establish his strongholds. It is for that reason Paul tells us to bring every thought into obedience to Christ. He explains in Romans 12:2 that we are transformed from sinners to saints by the "renewing of our minds".

Philippians 4:6 instructs us to, "be anxious for nothing." When anxious thoughts arise, we must pray with thanksgiving over the fact God has everything in control.

Philippians 4:7 promises when we do this, a peace will come over us that surpasses all understanding. This is a peace that will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus from Satan's strongholds.

The directives for victorious living doesn't stop there. Philippians 4:8 tells us clearly how we can bring every thought into obedience in Christ. This involves rejecting the stinking thinking of negativism and letting our minds dwell upon what is true, just, pure, lovely, of good report and that which is excellent and worthy of praise. In other words, we must stop all negative thinking which rises up against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ as 2 Corinthians 10:5 says.

When we do this, we will be using the divine weapons Christ has given us to destroy every stronghold that is keeping us from coming into the knowledge and obedience to Christ.

As the Holy Spirit works to destroy Satan’s strongholds, and bring us into the knowledge of Christ, the enemy is right there with his accusations. Peter tells us that Satan is like a "roaring lion walking around seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8).

Satan may walk around like a roaring lion but all he can do is roar. He is a toothless lion because the victory of Christ has not only taken away his bite but his ability to destroy us. In order to live in the reality of that fact we must daily abide in the word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Since he can't eat us up one of the most frequent weapons Satan will use against believers is condemnation. He will not only make us feel we are failing in our attempts to live the Christian life, but he will frequently have someone there to criticize us when, in actuality, we need their support and prayers. In order to overcome such criticism, we must know there is "No condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1).

When Satan tried to accuse Joshua, the high priest, look what the Lord said to Satan in Zechariah 3:2, "The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?" You are that stick plucked from the fire through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.

Jesus now says to you, "See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festival robes" (Zechariah 3:4).

After plucking us from the fire and clothing us in His righteousness, Jesus gives us directives and a promise in Zechariah 3:7 when he says, "If you will walk in My ways, and if you perform My service then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here."

We have this free access into the presence of God because we have "redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7). It is the blood of Jesus Christ which creates the scarlet thread of God's power that is woven throughout the Scriptures and opens heaven to us.

What power Christ has given us to have victory over the powers of darkness. Now, in order to help the hurting and homeless we must "Let us therefore come to God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Hebrew 4:16).

Never forget that Jesus Christ has already won the victory for us through His death and resurrection and now we are "more than conquerors through Christ Jesus who strengthens you" (Romans 8:37).

Yours in Christ,

Larry Rice