You long for victories, and in truth God has wired you to win them. Jesus even promised his followers that they would tread over all sorts of evils. So why do so many people feel defeated?
Perhaps our definition of “victory” doesn’t line up with God’s. Many of us run after visible results, assuming that God wants us to achieve, accomplish, and produce outward fruit. No matter how good and noble those results are—and usually they are very good and noble—there’s a greater victory in the process than in the journey. If we are so goal-focused that any setback causes us to lose our joy, patience, love, or character, then reaching the goal is not a victory. It’s a loss.
Overcoming evil is comprehensive. It’s possible to win an outcome while losing relationships or character in the process. Victory doesn’t mean bad things don’t happen to us; it means we maintain our joy and peace in the midst of bad things. That’s how we overcome. Maintain who you are in inner victory, and outward victories will eventually come.
