victory

Sunday I celebrated my spiritual birthday.  What is that you may ask?  on Sunday November 30, 1997, my life was forever changed.  On that day I asked Jesus to come into my life, I made Him my savior.

Some days, Some times, I lose site of that victory.  Some days, sometimes, things catch you or me off guard.  Some days some times things spin out of control.  It's these times, those days that we must remind ourselves, I have victory.  Some days are dark, dreary, and concerning.  Other days are beautiful, sunny, and encouraging.  Whether the days are dark, or the days are sunny the fact remains:  I have victory.

Not because of who we are, not because of some great and wonderful thing that we have done, but because His (God's) love goes far beyond what you and I could ever imagine.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23, NIV)

I don't deserve the life I have right now, I don't deserve my family, I don't deserve my career, I don't deserve my friends, the fact of the matter is:  you don't either.  It is the gift of God.  That's powerful if you think about it.  Everything that we have, every person we know, and every breath we take is a gift from God.

It never ceases to amaze me when I read the Story of Jesus about what He was willing to do for me.  I wished every day I kept my eye on that but I don't.  Try as I may to keep that in the forefront of my pursuit of this life He gave me, we can all get distracted (squirrel)...

Sometimes we ask "Why me?", The response I usually get is, "why not".  Why shouldn't I have to deal with adversity, Jesus Did.  The gift, it came with a hefty price.  Jesus' life.  He knew the cost too, In Luke scripture tells that Jesus was so overcome with stress, grief, and anxiety that "He sweat drops of blood" (Luke 22:44).  I've been under unbelievable stress before, but never like that.  The gift.  He did that for me.

He suffered, died, and resurrected so I can LIVE.  That is what makes me victorious.  I may not always feel victorious, and you may not either.  The victory is not based upon you or me.  The victory is the gift of eternal life.

God, thank you for the victory...