Welcome to the Victory Blog

Everyone has trials in this life. I know this isn’t exactly everyone’s favorite topic to discuss, but I want to talk about overcoming trials. We can’t avoid trials altogether, but we can get through them victoriously.

A few months ago, I went through a bit of a trial myself after returning from Africa. Some stuff was going on with my body; my arms and legs weren’t working properly. I went through a little season of fear because my mother has MS and my father died of a brain tumor. A lot of different things were going through my mind, but I recognized that this was nothing but the enemy trying to discourage me. Thankfully, as I went through this trial, the Lord showed me that there are certain things that we need to have in place in order to make it through our trials.

First, we need to know that:

• Trials are relative. When we’re going through a trial, it’s usually measured by what we’ve been through in the past.
• Trials are impartial. No one gets a free pass through life.
• Trials are unpredictable. You don’t get to plan them out.
• Trials are defining. You never really know what a person believes or how strong they are until a trial. We grow the most in the midst of trials.

Then, there are some key principles to overcoming:

• We must rejoice in spite of the way we feel. This is real simple, but not easy to do. The joy of the Lord is our strength. Joy is more than an emotion; it’s a spiritual force. Don’t let the devil steal your joy; keep worshiping God even in the midst of your most difficult trials.
• We must speak God’s Word in spite of your thoughts! We have to decide not to speak about our problems, but rather to speak to our problems based on God’s Word. Speak faith instead of doubt.
• We must focus on the promise in spite of the problem. Satan will use our circumstances, our trials to try to discourage us and get our focus off of God’s promises. It’s not what’s happening on the outside; it’s what’s happening on the inside that counts and is the key to getting through our trials. We need to know our purpose and focus on that, not on the temporary trials we’re going through along the way.

God is well able to take us through our trials. But we have got to remind ourselves of these principles. When you find yourself in a trial, begin to worship. That will cause faith to begin to well up in your spirit. Speak God’s word and focus on His promises. Look forward. Things often look the darkest just before breakthrough. Keep pressing on! Soon, you will see how your loving Father will turn this trial into a source of great joy in your life and through you to many others!

If you want to hear more about this and have your faith increased, let me invite you to listen to or watch this message online.