Victim or Victor
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. 1 Chronicles 29:11
I recently was a “break-out” speaker at a Christian Worldview conference not far from our home. Though there was a not a large crowd it was an exciting time. People came to Pennsylvania from many states, Missouri and Michigan, New York and New Jersey. It is fun and encouraging to be in the presence of God’s people who are interested in ways to advance the Kingdom of Christ!
The breakout sessions were right after lunch and the keynote speakers had gone to one restaurant where the conferees could go and sit with them and discuss the topics of the weekend in depth. No one wanted to hurry back! And, my “Mentoring for the Next Generation” talk was at the same time as two other sessions, one with a much better known speaker than I! (Paul Michael Raymond, if you get a chance, go to sermonaudio.com and listen to him preach). The other one was a session on “The Biblical Foundation of the Constitution.” I was not expecting a large crowd.
My husband had come with me to set up a recording device and so he and I were standing outside the room as people returned from lunch and started heading to the sessions. As the third woman walked toward us my husband joked, “Here comes another victim.” Without hesitation she responded, “Victim? I’m not a victim, I’m a victor! ”
I immediately told her I would adopt that response to the victim mentality that we so often hear. Jesus teaches us in John 16:13 that He has already overcome the world, it is His Victory that we inherit when we are adopted into His family in salvation. These are the words of Jesus, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
When we are “in tribulation”, when life hurts, when people let us down, when the world does not “seem” to be right, we can rest assured that Jesus has accomplished victory over the things of the world. He is great. His wisdom can direct us through any problem, His power will overcome any enemy, and His compassion will comfort. In all of those ways we will see His glory, His majesty, and not only His Victory but the victory we can live in because we are His. In 1 Corinthians 15:57 Paul thanks God like this, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Do we live as “victims” or as “victors”? Victims will fall prey to the world and will grow discouraged. Victims shift blame for their circumstances to someone else, accepting no responsibility. The victor will take on the problem with faith that Christ, in all his wisdom, power and glory, can handle anything the world throws at us – He is already the Victor!
The victor does not need to blame anyone when things in this life get difficult, as those who are “more than conquerors” (Romans 8:37) we look to the Lord, knowing that all He does is for our good and His glory. I guess in that respect we see God as the source of our troubles — but we don’t blame Him. The difference in the outlooks is the good news that God uses those troubles to work out His purposes in our lives. It is all good for the victor – maybe it doesn’t “feel” like it at the time but a victor trusts God with the outcome of every situation.
From a Christian Worldview faith is what makes the difference between the victim and the victor in this world. A faithful Christian will trust God, through His Son, Jesus, to guide us along every threatening path, through every difficult relationship or conversation, and away from all evil so that we experience the peace that comes through faith.
The victim, on the other hand, will back away from a threatening path, she will not face the truth of a difficult relationship or do the hard work of taking on the difficult conversations. By refusing to face these with faith, she will be repeatedly confronted by the evil intentions of others. She will be a victim because of her lack of faith that these situations are what God uses to grow our faith and our character. He uses all of this to advance His own Kingdom on earth as others recognize His work in the Victor’s life – not the victim’s. We may have to face hard things but we do it with His presence, His compassion, His power, and His comfort and it is obvious to others that we are not acting in weakness but in His strength.
Like my new friend, I want to be a victor not a victim in this life. The only way to that end is through faith in Jesus Christ. “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world–our faith.”
How about you, faithless victim or faithful victor?