Victors take responsibility for their mistakes.
Victims blame others for their mistakes.
Victors receive correction as a teaching moment.
Victims take correction as a personal attack.
Victors let go of offenses.
Victims horde their offenses and take on others offenses as well.
Victors refuse to be defined by their failures.
Victims refuse to see anything but their failures.
Victors walk with their head up.
Victims walk with their head down.
Victors celebrate the victories of others.
Victims demonize the victories of others.
Victors let go of their shame.
Victims live in their shame.
You see, the biggest difference between a victor and a victim is…
…PERSPECTIVE and RESPONSE.
When you have the wrong perspective, you will always have the wrong response.
Christians, above all others in this world, ought to be walking as victors, not victims. Yet too often we see Christians looking just like the victim rather than the victor. Jesus didn’t tell us this life would be easy, but he sure didn’t tell us we would be victims.
Here is what the Bible has to say about living victoriously:
Deuteronomy 20:4 ESV, “For the Lord your God is He who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the VICTORY.”
Philippians 4:13 ESV, “I can do ALL things through Him who STRENGTHENS me.”
Psalm 108:13 ESV, “With God we shall do VALIANTLY; it is He who will tread down our foes.”
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 ESV, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my POWER is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the POWER of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am STRONG.”
Ephesians 6:13 ESV, “Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to STAND FIRM.”
Luke 10:19 ESV, “Behold, I have given you AUTHORITY to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the POWER of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.”
Isaiah 41:13 ESV, “For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, ‘Fear not, I am the one who HELPS you.'”
2 Corinthians 10:4 ESV, “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine POWER to DESTROY strongholds.”
1 John 5:4-5 ESV, “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the VICTORY that has overcome the world–our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
I could go on and on, but for the sake of time, feel free to check out the following website where you can find several more verses about victory in the bible HERE.
So Church…especially those of us who are walking around taking on the victim mentality…it is time you lifted up your head and stopped drowning in your failures and started living in the victories that God wants to bring to you.
Why?
Because in the words of the Apostle Paul:
No, in all these things we are more than CONQUERORS through Him who loved us.