My Thirty Day Faith Dare – Day 19

Live as an Overcomer – Dare to Get Your Head Out from under the Circumstances

John 16:33 [Jesus said,] “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Today’s Truth
John 16:33 NLT I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

Today’s Dare: Get Your Head Out from under Your Circumstances

Author: When we focus only on self and become consumed by the conflict, we begin to live under it rather than being an overcomer through faith in Christ. I can live under the fear of [the situation], or I can keep my eyes on Jesus.

Today’s truth is speaking to me…
There comes a time when I’m sick of looking inside out… sick of focusing internally on myself, my circumstances, my “whoa is me”. Yes, I need to acknowledge my pain, and sit with it, and work through it with the Lord. However… when I choose to stay there past the point of healthy introspection, then I’m choosing to live under it. I am grabbing it like a dirty but comfortable old blanket and pulling it over my head and closing myself off from God and the world. This is not where God wants me to be. I need to toss off that blanket, grab His hand to lift me up out of it, and rise above it as a Christ-empowered overcomer. Jesus has warned me that yep, there’s gonna be whole mess of trouble, but to keep looking at Him, and trust that He’s already got it beat. I agree with the author that this isn’t easy to do, but we still must choose to do it. I want to be a person that, when trouble strikes, people can look at and wonder why I’m not overcome by it all. That opens the door for me to tell them why – Jesus, plain and simple, end of story. My Jesus, HE is why, HE is my overcomer, my hero, my salvation.

God is asking me to …
- Dare to have a positive stance regarding any current negative circumstances
- Find something good I can do just for today that will overcome the negative and give me a positive to think about.
- Remember not to project into tomorrow, next week/month/year, forever!!! Remember Matthew 6:34: “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

My challenge is to…
- Take courage, and even though it may be only one tiny baby step from under to over, to choose to take that step.
- Not be surprised when the trouble comes – hey, He’s warned me! But to instead be prepared in faith to look up to Him instead of down at the mountain of manure that’s just been dumped on me!
- Remember that my God is the God of resurrection power and promise and can overcome anything this world throws at me!!!
- My challenge is to live with courage, to take the risks of obedience, even though they may not come with comfy guarantees, but being confident that inside His will is always is the best place to be, no matter what.