MORE than a conqueror

I don't hold tight to my Faith in Christ Jesus because i was raised in a Christian home and it was hammered into my brain. I don't call myself a Christian- Follower of Christ, because I am a blessed resident of the Bible Belt region. I believe what i believe due to the unavoidable, inevitable testimony my life bears to my Faith. People who know may not see or get what i am saying by "unavoidable inevitable" testimony, but people who KNOW ME, do. People who KNOW ME, have watched as I have taken on the duties of a soldier called to battle daily. Those people have seen me take hits and injuries that to some may seem  unrecoverable. Injuries that seep so far that they break not only my flesh, but my heart and spirit as well. Some of these wounds are from battles that i carelessly and defiantly walked into. Battles that easily could have been avoided. Some, however, are battles that only the hand of God has control over. Battles i would have never seen coming. No matter what the battle, there was always a wound. An injury that cut deep setting me back from the actual fight.

I look at my life and the landmines that I have walked through, and i feel my soul crying out that in all these things I am more than a conqueror through Him who loved ME. (Rom.8:37) A conqueror defined by Webster is one who gains mastery over or win by overcoming obstacles or opposition. So, I am not just a conqueror but MORE. I am promised that as i overcome these trials and tribulations, as i walk through this open battlefield full of landmines, i am promised to Conquer and Overcome. Not only will I overcome with my physical worldly abilities, but I will overcome with my Heavenly Father's supernatural powers and abilities as well. I will conquer and overcome in a manner that whatever i am facing will have NO ability to rise up in anyway of defiance after the battle has been won. Think about it... You conquer the last level in your latest favorite video game, but wait. The creator decided to create another game with more levels. Yes you conquered it but you cannot control it's ability to rise again. Or an army conquers a nation but can not control the possibility of the people rising up in defiance. However, with my battles, they are conquered, they are defeated, their power over me is finished. The same conquering that Jesus lavished upon the grave is the conquering i have over my life and the obstacles there in. It is this testimony that causes me to cling wholeheartedly to my faith and trust, even when the trials are unclear and the promise is hard to see. 

I am on this rant because this past weekend I was able to replay a battle in my life that I honestly thought i would never fully recover from. A battle that robbed me physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. A battle that lasted years long. Now, a couple of years down the road and many stressed induced Dr appointments and counseling appointments later, I am MORE than a conqueror!! I am redeemed and made new. For so long, i allowed the control of my situation to restrict my daily routine, my physical well-being, and my relational well-being with others. I allowed it to deceive me into believing that even with Christ i could not overcome. 

Now i stand here today praising God for the mile-stone that was accomplished through and by His Grace alone, this past weekend. I was able to face this battle which I allowed to run, control, and damage so many parts of  my life for the first time in almost 2 years. Not only did i confront my battle, but i stood before it with my head held high, a smile on my face, and the amount of dignity and respect for myself that only God could pour onto me. I stood there as the bigger person laughing and relinquishing the anger that i had allowed consume me for so long. I stood their realizing that through Christ i am made new and the old is washed away. That battle....is washed away. 

This is only one of the many rehabilitative moments I have experienced from the devastating landmines that have hit  my life. Also, this is only one of the many that are to come. Some will be less traumatic and some oh so very catastrophic. But day by day, landmine by landmine, i will forever be reminded of the moment that I stood with my head held high, looked the devil in the face and proclaimed His Victory... My Victory... Our Victory!

To God Be the Glory Forever and Ever...Amen...