People are suffering everywhere…yes they are
Hopelessness is at an all time high…yes it is
Is it really possible to be an overcomer in the sense of, “I’ll never go through this again?”…no it is not
If it’s not possible, why should I bother?…Because, you haven’t learned what it really means to be an overcomer. Read this…
The greatest lessons to learn, the way God teaches us, is through life’s goings ons. It is up to us to pay attention and apply what we learn. Each time we learn, the wisdom gained should become another tool in our arsenal.
One day, I was watching the movie World War Z with Brad Pitt. While watching the film, I felt the Lord talking to me through things the characters were saying. I know it sounds weird, but I learned, by way of Holy Spirit, that God, nor His communication choices, should be put into a box. I can hear Him in the wind, if He so chooses to speak that way.
Anywho, I was discovering all types of nuggets in the movie that would play a huge roll in my life. Today, a couple of them have slipped in as a part of our lesson.
First, let’s clear a tad bit of information up. You cannot be an overcomer if there is nothing to overcome.
Second, no where in the bible does it say we won’t have trials and tribulations just because we are Believers. If it was intended that we wouldn’t go through things, scriptures like Isaiah 54:17 wouldn’t be necessary:
“‘No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me,’ says the Lord”
Let me shine a huge beacon of light your way:
You may not be able to escape the storm, but I guarantee you can make it out unscathed. God has not set us up to lose. If we lose, It’s our own fault.
Are You Ready To Win?
LET’S GO!
Here are 3 Ways to Overcome Anything…
1. Perspective
At the beginning of 2017, my word for the year was perspective. I didn’t understand it then, but I do now. It doesn’t matter how something appears, it’s about how you view it.
Picture a camera lense and the the photographer is shifting around to get the right angle…
You can view a situation as hopeless and think that nothing worse can happen to you or you can refocus your spiritual binoculars and see the platinum lining.
Ask yourself, if God doesn’t waste time, how is it that there is no lesson in what I’m experiencing?
In my own situation, things were so bad that just about everyday for 3 weeks, maybe longer, I just cried! The only thing I could see was how I messed up and the enemy was going to win…and everyone who was waiting for me to fail was going to laugh at me. I went to church one Sunday, came home and got inthebed, declaring that I was just going to be depressed! I remember listening to some encouraging words by Pastor Joel Osteen during my pity party and Holy Spirit sayed, “Now Get Up!” I sat up on the side of the bed. From that point things changed to the point where I actually thought my situation was better. It wasn’t! I was still in the rabbit hole, creeping in deeper and deeper. So what happened?
I did a few things to move forward:
1a. I gave the burden to the burden bearer.
1b. Next, I asked questions like, “what can I learn from this?” … “is there something I’m missing?” … “what would you like me to do while you are manifesting the answer?” … “who can I help?”
1c. I realigned my focus on things I could be grateful for and expressed those things daily.
In World War Z, there’s a scene on the plane where Brad Pitt is talking to the doctor he is charged to protect so he can find the cure for the zombie epidemic. In their dialogue, the doctor tells Pitt,
“Mother Nature is a serial killer. No one’s better or more creative. Like all serial killers, she can’t help the urge to want to get caught. What good are all those brilliant crimes if no one takes the credit? So she leaves crumbs. Now the hard part, why you spend a decade in school, is seeing the crumbs. But the clue’s there. Sometimes the thing you thought was the most brutal aspect of the virus, turns out to be the chink in its armor. And she loves disguising her weaknesses as strengths.”
Relating this back to God and life…
You’re not just out there dangling in the midst of chaos. Don’t focus on the problem. A problem is nothing more than a challenge and to every challenge there is a solution. Knowing even this one truth should perk you up a bit. We attract more of what we focus on. Focus on the situation and you will only be able to see how you can’t make it and imminent failure. When you know there is a solution somewhere, focus on finding it and you will attract what you need to pull through victorious!
2. Acknowledgement
Often times we ignore something as if it doesn’t exist. We allow it to fester until it becomes something so painful like a tooth ache turned into a punctured abscess.
Gross I know!
On the other hand, we sometimes allow pride, that sneaky devil, to rise up and we hide what we are going through. When we hide the issue, we are putting all of our efforts into keeping the secret. With that, two things begin to happen:
A. We are tormented by it
B. The protection we are convinced we need, paired with the torment, is our focus and it distracts us from finding the solution. It becomes a blockage to the breakthrough waiting on the other side.
What else do we have to always acknowledge?
…the fact that we played a part in getting where we are. We can’t just blame momma for not listening, husband for not being supportive or the pastor because he doesn’t understand the vision we rattled off to him for 2 hours. We must examine ourselves, acknowledge our own faults, grow from them and move on.
3. Stand
Lastly, the bible says it best in Ephesians 6:13…
“Therefore put on the complete armour of God, so that you may be able to stand your ground on the day of battle, and, having fought to the end, to remain victors on the field.” (Weymouth New Testament)
Here comes another World War Z moment! This particular quote, by the Bradster himself, made me rewind, ponder for days and learn the greatest lesson to date when it comes to overcoming anything thrown my way:
“I learned one thing on the field, movement is life. I’ve been in dangerous places. Those who survived move.”
This was what he said to an Indian man who decided to stay locked up in his apartment rather than run. Within 2 minutes, the man and his wife were attacked. They became zombies. Why? Because they were too afraid to move. Luckily, their son, ran away, followed Brad’s family to the roof and survives
You want to overcome whatever comes your way? Follow number 1 and 2 … and NEVER give-up. Keep praying, keep reading, keep fasting, keep BELIEVING!
Be like Bebe Kids…we don’t die, we multiply!
#PowerChallenge
In the scenes right before the one depicted below, Pitt was focused on escaping the zombies and living. It was not until he stopped and took a few quiet moments that he remembered what the doctor said. His mind began to flash back to things he had seen, things that stuck out, during his escape. He was so busy trying not to die, that he missed the crumbs! When he remembered, he was led to a place where the solution he came up with could be created and lives were saved!
Focus on the bigger picture … Read Psalm 121:1-2 and apply it … Even if it looks like it’s not working, don’t give up: It’s Going To Work!
This is the scene right after Pitt injected himself with the cure. He faced what he had been running from the entire movie!