101 - Overcoming the World

John 16:33 NASB

In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.

1 John 5:4 NASB

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

Colossians 3:1-4 NASB

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NASB

Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

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Overcoming a world ruled by satan is a spiritual war that at times feels overpowering, but we are not alone. What we may not always be mindful of is that in Christ we fight from a position in which the battle is already won. Jesus final words on the cross, it is finished and His resurrection from the dead ushered us into a place of victory, not uncertainty. A certainty that strengthens us, growing our confidence in a God who is able to sustain what He began in us.

We don't fight this war as if striving to save ourselves, we have already been saved, safe, and secure. A mindset in which it is not within our strength that we prevail, but through faith in His unfailing strength. A strength that took us from where we were, separated from God, to where we are, within His loving care. His power is constant and faithful for those who believe even when we feel weak and powerless. Our minds are fixed on the truth that greater is the one who is in us than the one who is in the world. We are strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might, not our own.

We put on the full armor of God, focusing on the aspects of His saving power; truth, the gospel of peace, righteousness, faith, salvation and the word of God; the sword of the Spirit. These have their origin in God through Christ Jesus alone, not in us. Each an attribute of our faith in Him for our strengthening and sustaining power, to rest in Him and not ourselves. A strength and sustaining power that enable us to boldly take hold of His promise to fight for us and to be our salvation.

We don't engage satan from a worldly standpoint as if trying to defeat him, for he has already been defeated. Even in our weakness it is God who prevails far beyond all we could do. As the creator of all things, the heavens, the earth, the sea and all that is in them He is more powerful than we can even imagine. It is this faith, an understanding of His power and what that means for us that extinguishes all the flaming arrows of the evil one; the quenching victory in Christ. All things are possible through faith in God, who He is, who He has made us and His continued walk with us and work in and through us.

We know who we are, holy and righteous; redeemed, recreated and reborn, and the position we hold seated with Christ in the heavenly places, far above this world's rule and authority that seeks to tell us otherwise. We view all things from this perspective, seeing ourselves in the light of His understanding as His beloved children. We possess the mind of Christ and in this our frame of mind we transcend the world because He transcended the world. From this vantage point we no longer see as the world sees, for this earth is not our home, we look instead to a new future, one secured in heaven.

We have been loosed from what binds the world, to rise above, because we believe and are fully convinced what we possess, what no one can take away, is far greater. We are not swayed by the pattern of this world and what holds it captive, but rather, having been set free from sin and the world's lure we have peace in Christ.

We trust in the Lord with all our heart and with all our mind; in all we desire and think because He is our rock, our shield and our deliverer. In continual prayer we call out to Him, because He hears us, because it is His desire to come to our aid. In letting go and being still we cease striving within a mindset that it is by our hands, for it is His battle. In Him we trust, casting our world upon Him because He is the one caring for us. We release ourselves because we trust in Him as our provider, the one who works all things out for the good.

In a place of trust and faith our hearts are where they ought to be, we are home. For He alone has the power and the words of life eternal, shifting our perspective from ourselves to Him. Within this reality we rest in the one who reached in, and against all, saved us even when we were lost and without hope.

We overcome the world through His Son who has set the course before us as the author and perfecter of our faith and shows us the way. He is the one who has granted us a new vision, raising us above all that is temporal, all that will soon pass away that one final day. Our view is transformed, changing the way we look at ourselves, our life, and this world and all it encompasses.