This morning I was complaining to the Lord about a lot of things.
The lack of victory in my life in many areas – forgiving people who have deeply hurt me – allowing fear to rob me of my joy – worrying about things I can’t control – and I could go on. My guess is that most of you reading this know exactly what I’m talking about. Prayer time that is a list of complaints and accusations that mean “God, You aren’t who you say you are, You don’t do what You say You will and I am lost and adrift here in Satan’s domain on planet earth.
The good news is . . . God answers prayers.
After all my complaining about how He wasn’t attending to my needs when He had promised me He had overcome the world, He reminded me of something He had spoken to me about many times in the past. He has already given me victory in every area of my life. He did it 2000 years ago on the cross. I was crucified with Him then and my victory over EVERYTHING, even death, was accomplished there. He reminded me that that is clearly stated in His Word. Then He reminded me of something else. What He personally said in Mark 11 – “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.”
This left me face-to-face with myself. Something that is never pleasant.
Look at what I was asking – “Give me victory in my life.” I couldn’t be more clear in what I was telling Him because if you put it another way it would read, “You haven’t given me victory in my life.” One doesn’t ask for something they already have. I don’t pray give me a voice or a husband or a car. I have them already. So why do I say give me victory in areas of my life where He says I already have it by His substitutionary death on the cross and His gift of His Holy Spirit in me that makes it possible for Him to live that victorious life through me?
I say it because I don’t believe what He has said. There is no way to escape that. My behavior is proof of what I really believe. My words say what I think I believe, but my actions prove what I really believe.
That realization only caused me to approach Him with another complaint – “Why, why do I do that?” To which He gently responded, “You have no faith in Me. My promises are facts but they won’t become facts in your life until you believe them.”
Guilty. I am guilty. I can’t make God’s facts a truth in my life until I believe them. Not say I believe them, but actually walk in them. When worry comes, apply the cross. When fear comes, apply the cross. When discouragement comes, apply the cross. He lives in me. He can live His life through me. But only if I really believe that. When fear comes in an area of my life – does Jesus Christ fear? Do I have the right through my identification with His cross, where He overcame the world and even death, where I was crucified with him, to apply that victory now, today? He says YES. When worry comes knocking, then pounding at the door of my life do I have the right through my identification with His cross to say I have nothing to worry about I was crucified with Christ and as I was with and in Him then, He is with and in me now and He is not worried. YES.
Everything accomplished on that cross is ours. He did it for us. He has given it to us. Not will give it. It is ours now. There is only one thing that stops us from walking in that victory. Unbelief. But you know what? Right now at this moment I am able to grasp that truth. I am able in this moment to believe that accomplished fact. Right now I am able to walk in perfect peace with Him because I absolutely know and believe what He has said and who I am in Him. My worries and fears seem to have no power over me in this moment. And that is available to me every moment if I will just believe in Him.
It is a moment by moment walk because there is never a moment that Satan rests. Satan’s desire is to make us call God a liar by convincing us to live in fear and worry and unforgiveness. But it is Satan who is the liar. I pray you will join me and make Satan a liar in this moment. Believe. Don’t just say you believe. Examine your behavior. Does it show that Christ is living out His life of divine freedom through you because just as He provided a substitutionary death He now provides a substitutionary life?
EVERYTHING Christ has is yours. He said so. Do you believe Him in this moment? I do. “Oh, Lord, forgive me. Help me with my unbelief and let me walk every moment in Your victory on the cross. Your mercy and grace are endless. The life you have given me is joyful and abundant and eternal. All my battles are already won. Even this one. Amen.”
You bring up things I need to remember
God has a way of doing that in our lives.
Wonderful post Nikki. Truth indeed.
Natasha
I love journaling here and sharing what God shows me. The last 10 days have been incredibly difficult. A time of great spiritual growth. It has been Hell. But He has been with me. I prefer to face Hell with Him than to be anywhere else without Him.
This deeply moved me this morning.
I am so thankful for having this blog. It provides me a way to journal. If you had not created it, that would not be possible. When you see posts from our brothers and sisters saying they were blessed in some way, you have the joy of knowing that you are the one God used to make that possible.
Oh, Nikki, AMEN AND AMEN!! This gave me goosebumps because it’s EXACTLY what God spoke to my heart just a few days ago when I read the following Scriptures where the apostles couldn’t drive a demon out of a boy in Matthew 17:19-21
18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith(A) as small as a mustard seed,(B) you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.(C) Nothing will be impossible for you.”
It just hit me at that moment that our constant prayer should be, “Lord, help my unbelief” because if even the apostles — who walked with Him, saw His miracles and His heart — did not have enough faith, how much more us?? So we don’t beat ourselves up, we just keep praying for stronger faith and for God to help us “overcome our unbelief.”
GREAT POST, Nikki!!
Hugs,
Julie
Julie, thanks so much for that confirmation.
Ouch! And thank you! I needed this today as I wonder why our immediate needs haven’t been met. I know He will provide but I can’t help but wonder when. I am weak in my wondering. Love to you!
Sigh. We are weak in our wondering because we are human. But He knows that. And as I said, his grace and mercy are endless. Love to you, too.
Amen!
I love these words b/c they are Truth. I am so thankful to my God for the victory in our lives that He has given us through the Cross. We must never take lightly the stripes He bore, the pain He suffered, the trials He faced on this earth were ALL for us, even just one of us. To Him be the glory.
Hi Cousin! Thanks for stopping by. I’m to a class on Islam.
Hi Nikki
Sometimes (most of the time) my faith is so small you’d have to have a microscope to see it. All I do is take a deep breath and ask Jesus to help my unbelief. Thanks for reminding me I’m not alone.
Elaine
Elaine, Isn’t it wonderful we need only have faith in Christ and all He has made available to us, one moment at a time? You can do that today.
Thank you so much, Nikki, for reminding us of what is ours through Christ. It’s often hard to “feel” victorious, but Praise God we do not live by our feelings–it’s faith in what is more real than this temporal stuff that pulls so hard.
Thanks,
Chana
Wow. What an amazing post.