Victory
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15: 57).
Christ through His death and Resurrection attained victory over sin, death, and the world. As Christians, we sing hymns about “Victory in Jesus”, “Standing on the Promise”, “Power in the Blood”, and “Sunshine in the Soul”; proclaim that “The Battle Belongs to the Lord” and that “Faith Is the Victory”.
But the world can be very hard on us. Like soldiers in battle, we may be wounded, maimed even. May lose or be denied what we once valued, once thought we could not live without. Those who expect victory as the world understands it – or victory painlessly – will be sadly disappointed.
We may be maligned and rejected, denied our dreams – a well-deserved promotion or the publication of a treasured manuscript. We may lose a precious child or a business at which we labored for years or a legal case into which we poured our talent and ourselves. We may be hated and reviled by the very persons we served to the best of our ability, to the limit of our strength. We may be betrayed by a dear friend, a spouse, or both.
Yet God upholds us amid the onslaught. He accomplishes His plan even when we do not understand it, even when we are sure we have failed in our efforts to do His will.
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15: 58).
Only after defeat can we claim the joy of victory. Till then the word is empty for us.
READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse https://avoicereclaimed.com
A Lawyer's Prayers 
“Only after defeat can we claim the joy of victory. Till then the word is empty for us.” … Powerful piece, Anna! 🙂 ♥ ❤
Thank you, Jackie! It is important to know this or we can easily lose hope. ❤
So timely for me:
“Yet God upholds us amid the onslaught. He accomplishes His plan even when we do not understand it, even when we are sure we have failed in our efforts to do His will.”
I had just spoken to my husband last night, that one of the hardest battles in life are those we don’t understand. Yet, God does. Thank you so much for confirmation. Of how He still accomplishes His plan when we are faithful to follow Him. Blessings
Again you’ve blessed me today. :0) When increasing health problems made it impossible for me to continue with the practice of law, I was deeply discouraged. I had felt genuinely called to the law; had relied on it to define myself, and could not conceive what else might take its place. But if I had not fallen ill, I would never have slowed down long enough to write. And I would never have learned that the Father loves us whether we’re “productive” in our own eyes or not.