Overcoming – Part II “The Presence”

In my last post I talked about “Overcoming In the Face of Adversity”.  Most of the world is being overcome with adversity but it is important for you and for the world to realize that we can be the overcomers and not the overcome.  God’s people are chosen to be the head and not the tail but most of the time because of our lack of faith and our lack of knowledge and obedience to God’s Word we end up being the people that are overcome the most.  I need hope.  You need hope but hope will never come from any man or any program or any government.  True hope that bears fruit only comes from the one true God.

This one true God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to be the example of how to live and to be the ultimate sacrifice for your sins and for mine; for the whole world.  This freed us from the power of sin and gives us hope for eternal life in Heaven surrounded by the very presence of God.  But that is not the only aspect of this hope.  Acceptance of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior not only gives you hope for eternity but gives you hope for this life.  Since, in Christ, we are freed from the power of sin, then we are freed to live the life we were created to live and fulfill our destiny in Christ.

But here is the starting point for you and for me.  We will never begin to overcome adversity outside of the Presence of God.  Psalms 91 is a great chapter that gives us great hope for being covered and protected by the Presence of God.  It tells us in verse 1 that we are covered in the shadow of His wing.  Being in the presence of God protects us and keeps us.  That protection helps us to overcome adversity.  Throughout the Old Testament we see God telling his people that he would go before them to destroy the enemy and prepare the way for his people to move forward.  Abiding in the presence of God still does the same today.  One of the biggest mistakes Christians make is thinking they can just take the Biblical principals and go do things on their own strength.  You will be no more successful than the Philistines were when they captured the presence of God.  They mishandled the presence of God and it brought destruction to them.  Abiding properly in the presence of God and following the direction of his Spirit and his Word (Spirit and Truth) will guide you to overcoming.

There is a contrary wind that is blowing against the church and God’s people but adversity has never stopped God before and it will not stop God, nor his people now.  Abiding in the presence of God will be the first step towards becoming an overcomer instead of being the overcome.  Moses prayed to God in Exodus 33:16 and said, “For your presence among us sets your people and me apart from all other people on the earth.”  We cannot move forward unless God moves first.  The blessing that comes on the people who abide in the presence of God will be the light that shines for the world to see in these days of adversity.  So we can either give in and be overcome or we can dive into the presence of God and allow Matthew 5:16 to be true in our lives.  Our ability as Christians to shine in this adverse time will be what draws the lost.  The hope that the church has and lives in will be the tool we use to go out and harvest the lost.  So stop doubting and wallowing in depression and get yourself back in the presence of God and know that “You have overcome them, because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” 1 John 4:4

Revelations 21:7, “He who overcomes will inherit all things”