If people were asked their view about war, they will probably be on the negative side. There is even a song that says “What is it good for, absolutely nothing.” In war there is bloodshed, there are people taken into captivity, there is property loss and the list goes on. But God has told us to war a good warfare (1 Timothy 1:18). This means that this is a war that God has seen as good. It is good for us. So why is this warfare good? It is good for this very one thing, that we have the victory already. The outcome of any battle is us being victorious. That is why it is good. If we have the victory then we should see ourselves as successful. You may be struggling to pay your children’s school fees but that does not mean what I am saying ain’t true. The problem is that you are either ignorant of the truth or you have not internalized it as rock solid truth.
For you to hold on to the truth that you are a champion, you must hold on to faith else your success will turn to shipwreck (1 Timothy 1:19). The average believer is fighting wrongly. They are not fighting by faith. They know how to define faith, they can even deliver a message on it but they just cannot demonstrate it. Our battles must be fought by faith. This fight is a good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12). If you leave the faith domain, you will get beaten every time by the devil. The devil wants us in his domain so he can keep us flat on the ground. Get out from the place of fear, that is the devil’s domain and walk by faith.
In Genesis 3, When Adam sinned and hid, God said: “Where are you?” He was not where he was supposed to be. If you are not where you are supposed to be, if you are not in faith or in the word, things will get worse for you, if they aren’t already. You will even give excuses for your failure. You will blame others. You will cry and settle for less. See what God said about David “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will” (Acts 13:22). His heart was in the right place where God’s will is. His will is his written word. That is where your heart ought to be.
God promised the land of Canaan that flows with milk and honey to Israel. Moses sent out some men to spy out the land and after forty days they came back and gave their report. Do you know that all they said concerning the goodness of the land was exactly what God had told them but they forgot the most important part of what He said? God also said that He will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand (Exodus 23:31). They totally forgot. And do you know why they saw themselves as failures? In their heart, they saw themselves as grasshoppers. God never called them that. They did. You are limited by how you see yourself.
You may want things to really change in your life. You may be reading the word every day, praying every day and fasting often. But if you do not allow the word to change the way you see yourself. If you do not allow it to renew your mind, you will be frustrated. You cannot fight well if you believe you are not going to win. If you believe you are not the champion, you are never going to be one. In Christ we are champions but without faith, you will not experience it. Success has been placed in your hand by Jesus. Your part is to grasp it; to hold on to it. If you do not, the devil will come along and steal it from you. When you receive anything from God, you have to embrace it so as to experience it.
Believe within yourself that you are all God says you are irrespective of your temporal low income, no job, debt, addiction, laziness or challenges. When you do this continually, all these things will be under your feet. You shall be free.
John 8:31-32 (KJV)
31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, IF YE CONTINUE IN MY WORD, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall KNOW THE TRUTH, and THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE.
Possession of your victory must be held within before you see it physically. You cannot focus on where you struggle and succeed. You can focus on the places your life isn’t doing well and expect a turnaround. What you see is how you will look like. If you weigh your success on how people see you, the devil has gotten you and you will fall. Focus on what God says about you. Get into the written word. Consciously fight your wrong thinking with God’s word. Get that right and the struggling will be dealt with. When God gives you the thumbs up, what other people say does not matter.