Hi friends! I started this series asking you to imagine a sign up in my house that says, “Family Values” and then lists off the things I expect to see from my spiritual family. This is by no means an exhaustive list but I expect my family to: Assume the Best, Disagree Respectfully, Work Hard, Celebrate, and Walk in Victory.

It seems to me that most Christians understand why we are able to walk in victory. We can wrap our minds around the authority that Jesus has. But we struggle with the fact that He shares His authority with us. Most of us need consistent coaching to actually walk in victory.

“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (1 Corinthians 15:57 NIV).

“Yet even in the midst of all these things, we triumph over them all, for God has made us to be more than conquerors, and his demonstrated love is our glorious victory over everything!” (Romans 8:37 TPT).

“In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade,” (2 Corinthians 2:14 MSG).

I definitely fall into the camp of needing consistent coaching to walk in victory. My autopilot leans towards feeling like a victim and it happens without me even realizing it. Just this week, I was telling a friend that I feel spread pretty thin. I didn’t feel like I had enough energy or time to give all the places that I am called to. She called me out immediately and said, “You’re not a victim so what are you going to do about that?” I LOVE WOMEN WHO CHALLENGE ME! She didn’t let me sit and stew in my junk. She pointed my eyes toward Jesus and corrected me. Thank you, to those of you who know how to do that in love and then don’t feel guilty afterwards. You teach me more than you know.

Children of God are not victims. We may need to repeat that until the truth of it gets past our heads and into our souls and then deep into our spirits. Repeat this after me: “I am not a victim. I am NOT a victim.”

Even when someone else’s sin hurts us, we still have the authority to choose how we respond. Does our abuse become our identity? Does our life revolve around that incident? Or do we grab God’s hand and let Him heal us and lead us out into victory?

A victim mentality is deceptive. It sneaks in the back door and wrecks havoc on our souls. Most of us probably are not even aware that we have a victim mentality. I want this mindset to be exposed in the Family of God because it comes straight from the enemy. It is sinful to agree with something less than what God has for us. This mindset is robbing the Church of her effectiveness.

Here are few victim lies that we often believe and the scriptures that rebut them:

“God hasn’t taken care of me financially.”

“I was once young, but now I’m old. Not once have I found a lover of God forsaken by him, nor have any of their children gone hungry. Instead, I’ve found the godly ones to be the generous ones who give freely to others. Their children are blessed and become a blessing,” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭37:25-26‬ ‭TPT‬‬).

“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:26-30 ESV).

“I am not called.”

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light,” (1 Peter 2:9 NIV).

“You see, when God gives a grace gift and issues a call to a people, He does not change His mind and take it back,” (Romans 11:29 VOICE).

“I am not enough.”

“Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. ¹⁰ That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong,” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NLT).

“I can do all this through him who gives me strength,” (Philippians 4:13 NIV)

“God doesn’t like me.”

“For the Lord your God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty Savior. He will give you victory. He will rejoice over you with great gladness; he will love you and not accuse you.” Is that a joyous choir I hear? No, it is the Lord himself exulting over you in happy song,” (Zephaniah 3:17-18).

“Every single moment you are thinking of me! How precious and wonderful to consider that you cherish me constantly in your every thought! O God, your desires toward me are more than the grains of sand on every shore! When I awake each morning, you’re still with me,” (Psalm 139:17-18 TPT).

“Life just happens to me.”

“I want you to know, dear ones, what has happened to me has not hindered, but helped my ministry of preaching the gospel, causing it to expand and spread to many people,” (Philippians 1:12 TPT).

“As far as I am concerned, God turned into good what you meant for evil, for he brought me to this high position I have today so that I could save the lives of many people,” (Genesis 50:20 TLB).

“I have no control over my own life.”

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life,” (Galatians 6:7-8 ESV).

“I call Heaven and Earth to witness against you today: I place before you Life and Death, Blessing and Curse. Choose life so that you and your children will live. And love God, your God, listening obediently to him, firmly embracing him. Oh yes, he is life itself, a long life settled on the soil that God, your God, promised to give your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20 MSG).

God’s Word defeats every lie the enemy throws at us. We have to focus our thoughts on what God has to say. Our feelings and emotions can quickly trip us up and even become idols if we let them. If the enemy can keep us distracted with “how bad we have it,” then we most certainly aren’t being effective for the Kingdom of God.

So, what is our choice going to be? Do we want to continuing walking around like victims? Or would we like to walk in the victory that Christ paid for us to have? I sincerely hope we choose the latter. Not only are we not victims, we are entitled to a royal inheritance (Ephesians 1:11-14). We are children of the King and are over comers by God’s Grace. Let’s walk in victory!

Love,

Tif