“I’m not feeling it man.” I was talking with a young man about the struggles he was working through. When I mentioned the topic of being victorious, he responded with his “I’m not feeling it” comment.
Victory. It’s a simple word, but defining what it looks like in a Christian’s life gets a little more complex. It might be helpful to see how the term is used in Scripture.
In 1 John 5:4, we find the term used by John when he said, “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith” (ESV). The Greek word translated “victory” is nike, which Vines’ Dictionary rightly defines as “victory.” Paul uses a variation of nike in 1 Corinthians, where he speaks of the resurrection and of the “victory” over death and the grave. He then says, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (15:57).
So, victorious living comes by our faith and trust in our Lord Jesus Christ. Where the rubber meets the road is making victory the practical experience in our everyday lives. The tendency of our old nature is to think that the solution is to try harder. The Apostle Paul rebuked the Galatian believers for considering such an approach when he told them, “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3)
I am not advocating for spiritual laziness or inactivity. Paul tells us we are to work at living out our faith. No one in the New Testament did as much as Paul, but listen to what he said about himself: “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)
Victory comes to me when I love Jesus more than anything else in my life. Half-hearted followers will never experience the joy Paul felt when he said, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
Paul was no armchair Christian. He lived his life with one purpose — to know Christ and make Him known. As a result, Paul experienced the joy Jesus promised to those who kept His commandments. “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11)
Victory as a Christian is living full throttle for King Jesus, loving Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. That is a life that experiences the promised joy of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.
A joyful Christian is a victorious Christian, one who is more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37) and an overcomer (1 John 4:4).
In short, victory is achieved when Jesus is your first love. There are no shortcuts.
What say ye, Man of Valor?
Semper Fidelis!
