Difficulties have a way of knocking on the door of our lives.
But there is a wide difference between being overcome or being an overcomer when life hits the proverbial fan.

In Revelation 12:11 our arch enemy Satan is identified as “the accuser of the brethren.”

“And they overcame the accuser of the brethren by the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death.” Revelation 12:11

The devil takes immense pleasure and goes to great pains to point his foul, evil finger of condemnation and judgment at those who believe in Jesus Christ. His unholy purpose is to overwhelm and overcome God’s children with guilt, shame, discouragement, failure and defeat, rendering believers victimized and powerless.

Not so fast enemy of our souls! The devil and his hellish horde of rebellious angels were thrown down from heaven (Revelation 12:7-20) and are scheduled soon to be thrown down again. This time into the lake of eternal fire to be tormented forever (Revelation 20:10).

Burning forever in hellfire. Sounds to me like the devil and his crowd are the overwhelmed and overcome ones!

A Christian’s position in Christ is overcomer even when we feel overwhelmed and overcome.  Paul writes “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” Read the list of “all these things” in Romans 8:31-39 and decide if life conquers you or you conquer life. By the way, “overwhelmingly conquer” means we are super, super, super, super, duper conquers in Christ!

Praise the Lord who has made us overcomers of the devil and life’s difficulties!
According to our scripture, two things guarantee us victory over the enemy.

1. The blood of Jesus. God’s perfect, spotless, sinless, only Son Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, voluntarily shed His precious life blood for us (Romans 5:9, Hebrews 9:14, I Peter 1:18, I John 1:7-10, I John 2:2-1). Christians are washed, cleansed, covered, and protected by Christ’s blood.

Satan cannot touch the holy blood of Jesus! A blood line was drawn at Calvary’s Cross that the devil cannot cross.

Rejoice believer! Every time the enemy accuses us of sin and wrongdoing, the blood of Jesus Christ is our defense. Satan points to our sin. God points the devil to our Savior who paid the price for our sin. Case dismissed!        

2. The testimony of believers. Testimony is our word. Witnesses testify in a courtroom to what they have seen and heard. When the devil comes as prosecutor to charge us with sin, how do we plead and answer? Because of Christ’s blood, we plead not guilty and we stand up confidently to declare why.

The overcome forget who they are in Christ and sheepishly say so. Overcomers in Christ remember who they are in Him and SAY SO BOLDLY!!!

• Testimony Check. Out of your mouth, do your words testify (speak, confess) failure or success? Losing or winning? Tragedy or triumph? Victory or defeat? Death and life are in the power of our tongues (Proverbs 18:21), so watch your words and keep your testimony triumphant!

OVERCOMERS OVERCOME. Overcomers in Christ are not conquered by life’s difficulties.

Courageously and confidently, they conquer challenges, faithfully advance through adversities, valiantly triumph over trials and joyfully plant the flag of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords on the devil’s hill! Hallelujah!

Refuse to be overwhelmed and overcome by Satan’s attacks. Choose daily to rise up as a blood-bought, blood-covered (I Corinthians 6:20) Spirit-filled, spiritually equipped (Ephesians 6:10-12) overcoming child of the Living God who always triumphs in Christ (II Corinthians 2:14)!

Overcome or Overcomer is our choice.
Overcomer in Christ sounds good to me! How about you?

“For you are from God little children and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”    I John 4:4

“These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.”                                    Revelation 17:14  

A Word For Your Week: Your testimony determines whether life overcomes you or you overcome life!

Have you ever taken a spiritual hit and struggled to get back up?


Of course you have, and so have I.


Christians are engaged in a spiritual fight (Ephesians 6:10-20). Every born-again believer takes some blows from time to time. Satan, the enemy of our souls, takes pot shots at us, hoping to knock out our belief in Christ. His shots are cheap shots. Strategically and specifically designed to discourage us from running our race and going forward by faith.


If the devil knocks us down he works to keep us down.


So, what should we do when knocked down in life by Satan’s hit?


GET BACK UP!
    
Believers are to get up because we may be down but we are never out!


The Apostle Paul provides fighting words for us to fight back against the devil when life knocks us down. He reminds us where our strength and ability to bounce back from a spiritual blow comes from.


“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and nor from ourselves.”   II Corinthians 4:7


First, Paul reminds us that the treasure of new life in Christ is encased in an earthen or fleshly vessel. Our renewed spirit is housed in a body that is weak and susceptible to life’s blows. Tragedy, accidents, illness, life setbacks, financial reversals disappointment and discouragement are all blows that can knock us down. But they do not have to be a knockout blow!


Secondly, the power to get back up when down is from God. If it were solely up to us, we might stay down on the canvas for the eight count. Why? Because we lack power in ourselves to get back up! Our personal strength is inadequate. Paul knew from firsthand experience that our adequacy and sufficiency is of God. We can do all things through Jesus Christ who is our strength. (Philippians 4:13).


It is His power, not ours, that helps us bet back up when knocked down!


Paul lists four blows common to Christians in verses 7-9.


1. Afflicted……but not CRUSHED! Adversity and difficulties come, but they do not crush the life of Christ out of us. Life’s problems and pressures only cause Christians to press in to Christ and draw on His overcoming power.

• Life doesn’t crush those whose faith is firmly planted and rooted in Jesus Christ.

2. Perplexed……but not DESPAIRING! We may scratch our heads, but we do not despair. Christians have the mind of Christ (I Corinthians 2:16). We know where to turn when life turns on us and everything turns upside down. Solutions to our problems are in Him.

• Despair flees when we look to Jesus to solve life’s problems.

3. Persecuted…...but not FORSAKEN! When the enemy comes in like a flood, we have help. Jesus Christ is our standard, our banner, our champion. When the blows are falling, Jesus stands with us. He does not take a hike when we are taking hits. He takes hits on our behalf and always leads us to triumph in Him!

• God never forsakes His children when the fight is on.

4. Struck Down……but not DESTROYED! Satan’s blows have limited power. They may discourage but they cannot destroy. Unholy hits may take us down, but never out! We can always get up again because Jesus Christ’s resurrection power is in us.

• The devil could not keep Jesus down and he cannot keep God’s children down either!

God left us in our flesh so we would depend on Him for strength. He alone would receive glory because His strength would overcome our weakness. The life of Jesus is revealed in our flesh when we get back up when struck down. (Verses 10-11).


People see Jesus in Christians when they get back up when they have been down.


As God’s choice champion in Christ, never forget:

• DOWN IS NOT OUT.

• FAILURE IS NOT FINAL

• DELAY IS NOT DENIAL

• YOU CAN COMEBACK FROM A SETBACK.

Life knocked you down? Lift your eyes, look to Jesus Christ and get back up! Draw upon His power and strength to overcome the blow the enemy has delivered. Greater is Jesus who is in you than Satan who is in the world. (I John 4:4).


In Christ, we are up even when down!


“Moreover, David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.”                                               I Samuel 30:6


“For a righteous man falls seven times and rises again…”                   Proverbs 24:16


A Word For Your Week: We are never down for the count when we count on Christ’s strength.

“I’ve got your back” is a familiar phrase.

We hear it declared in every corner of our culture. Friends, family members, athletic teammates, law enforcement officers, military personnel all use it. “I’ve got your back” makes us feel good when someone is covering our backside in life.      

But have you ever been through a time when you wondered who or what was covering your back?

His name was Bob. He was a board member of the local church I served as Pastor. I loved him as my brother in Christ. I liked Bob. He was fun to be around. Laughed a lot. Encouraged me often. After every board meeting Bob would pat me on the back, look me in the eye and say “Pastor, I got your back.”

Bob had my back…… until he didn’t.

Sadly, strife and division raised its ugly head, rocking our fellowship. People chose sides. Those who were with the Pastor and those who opposed him. Joining with the dissenters, “I got your back Pastor” Bob turned his back on me. Backslapper turned backstabber.

Devastated me. I thought Bob would stand with me to help heal the division. Instead, he chose to not support me when I needed his support.

Back-stabbing happens. Always hurts. Cuts deeply.

I have been there. You probably have too. I recall looking over my shoulder with concern while passing through a season where past hurt haunted me. Emotional pain and depression can cast an ominous, demoralizing dark shadow over our lives. I worried that things that had hurt me previously would sneak in the back door of my heart and wound me again in the future.

In the gray shadows cast by worry and fear, I needed light. God’s delivering light to break out like the dawn and chase the darkness away. I desperately desired healing and recovery. Oh, how I prayed that it might come speedily! Though spiritually, emotionally and physically weak and weary, I did my best to look to the Lord with faith.

During my personal pain, the Lord assured me of this truth:  God our Father will never stab us in the back. He will guard our back all the days of our life!

In my time of need, when my backside seemed so vulnerable, God gave me His Word that He had my back!

Our verse for this week tells us “the glory of the Lord will be our rear guard.”

“Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your recovery will speedily spring forth; and your righteousness will go before you; the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard” Isaiah 58:8

The way I read this, God’s glory guards our rear!

 So, why do we need the Lord to be our rear guard? Because we are vulnerable to attack from our enemies from behind.

When God led Israel out of Egyptian bondage, He went ahead of them. “A pillar of cloud by day” and “a pillar of fire by night” directing their path. Whenever they stopped during the day or camped for the night, God moved the cloud and fire to their rear. Right between them and Pharaoh’s murderous army (Read Exodus 13-15).

The glory of God became their rear guard. God had Israel’s back!

Like Pharaoh tried to do to God’s people, the enemy of our soul, Satan, tries to sneak up on us from behind. He is a back door devil. A back-stabber! The evil one will never try to enter the front door. Why? Because the devil is a deceiver, conniver, and coward. He lacks courage to attack his enemies head on. Satan revels in end runs and back door assaults.

No one likes to be hit from behind. I have learned the back doors in my life that the devil likes to knock on are temptations, weaknesses, faults, shortcomings, mistakes, disappointments and failures I have struggled with in the past. Eternity’s biggest loser loves to hit us from behind, blindside us or bushwhack us if he can.

I have bad news for Satan and good news for you and me: When Satan tries to sneak up on us from behind, He runs head on with the Lord. God’s got our back. He slams the door on Satan. The Lord is the bouncer who bounces the devil every time.

If you are struggling with your past, or if you think the devil can crash and trash your life through the back door, I want you to take heart today.

THE GLORY OF THE LORD IS YOUR REAR GUARD!!!! The Word of God says so! Nothing, nor anyone, in heaven, on earth, or in hell can take out the God of glory!

My friend, our future is forward. Faith moves forward, not backward. Israel’s future was in the Promised Land of Canaan, not the wastelands of oppressive Egypt.

You and I can go forward by faith to enter new doors of opportunity in life because God is guarding the rear door.

Slam the door on self-pity, disappointment and discouragement over your past. Almighty God has got you covered! God is always on the job watching our rear!

So, who has your back today?

“Thou are my King, O God: Command victories for Jacob. Through Thee we will push back our adversaries; through Thy name we will trample down those who rise up against us. For I will not trust in my bow, nor will my sword save me. But Thou has saved us from our adversaries, and Thou has put to shame those who hate us. In God we have boasted all day long; and we will give thanks To Thy name forever.”    Psalm 44:4-8

A Word For Your Back: When God has our back we do not need anyone else to back us up.

Pressure.

As I sat down to write this piece on pressure, I thought about what I wanted to say about dealing with pressure in life. I know what I want to say. I do not like pressure. I do not know about you, but I prefer not being stressed and pressed by pressure.

A pressure free life would be just fine with me. Of course, that is wishful thinking, fantasy island stuff, not reality.

Like it or not, pressure comes with the territory of human experience.

Pressure, whether positive or negative, is part and parcel of real life in a real world.

Webster’s first definition of pressure is “the burden of physical or mental distress.” Living in our hurry and worry world, you and I feel pressure from the inside, the outside, upside, downside, from every side. Pressure to perform, pressure to succeed, pressure to win and pressure to get along with people.

Pressure to deal with pressure successfully can produce mental and emotional distress.

People handle the distress that pressure produces in diverse ways. Some people cave in under pressure. Others choose to run away when stressed. Some self-medicate under stressful situations. And too many people blow up when pressured by pressure. Pressure, a by-product of stress, tends to build up. Built up pressure will blow up if not relieved.
Blowing up and blowing out is not God’s will for people under pressure. Especially Christians. I am ashamed to say that throughout times in my life I have allowed pressure to build up, blow me up and blow out on others.

Emotional blowouts are never pretty! They do tremendous damage to our relationships.

I am learning that the pressure I feel must be relieved by the Lord and never unleashed on people.

Family members, friends, relatives, work associates, fellow church members, authority figures, and our pets are not deserving of our immature and irresponsible reactions to personal pressure.
When feeling pressure, the Word in I Peter 5:7 invites me to cast (to throw) my cares (anxiety, burdens, pressures, distress) on God.

“Casting all your cares upon Him because He cares for you.” I Peter 5:7

Why should I throw my pressure to Him? Because He cares for me. God loves and cares for me. Yes, God cares about stressed out Steve! He cares so much that He encourages me to cast my pressure on Him. He will catch it. My pressure becomes His pressure.

Truth is: God manages pressure better than Steve does!
If anyone who walked on this earth was under pressure, it was the Lord Jesus Christ. Pressed upon daily by crowds of needy people, persecuted relentlessly by religious hypocrites, faced with the prospect of death by crucifixion and the personal pain of abandonment by His closest friends while fiercely battling the forces of hell for the souls of men, God’s Son, Savior of the world, experienced pressure firsthand.

How did Jesus handle life’s pressures? He took them to the Father. Jesus cast His cares upon God. That is why He slipped away to pray. (Matthew 26:36, Mark 6:46, Mark 14:32, Luke 6:12, Luke 9:28).

He spent time alone with the Father relieving pressure so He could fulfill His purpose.

Time for a reality check. When you are under pressure, how do you deal with it? What would those who know you best say how you handle pressure? Is anyone in your life paying the price for your pressure? What does it mean to you to cast your cares upon God?

As a point of continual personal growth, I am working on this pressure thing. I have established a rule of thumb for myself when I feel pressure. The rule is this: Back off and cast pressure on the Lord.

I am doing better than I used to but not as well as I would like to.     
I have discovered a three-step process that helps me relieve pressure.

1. RECOGNIZE THE PRESSURE. I acknowledge immediately that I am under pressure. I call it what it is. I identify the source of pressure and how it is influencing me. I face pressure straight up. Seeing pressure for what it is (just pressure) motivates me to overcome it.

2. REALIZE PRESSURE NEEDS RELIEVED. I know I will make mistakes if I make decisions and take actions based on negative pressure. I am not at my best when “under the gun” of pressure. I tend to react instead of responding to life. Therefore, it is wise for me to seek relief from stress and pressure. Relief, not unleashing, is what I need.
3. RELEASE PRESSURE TO THE LORD. Release means I let go. I choose to purposely cast or throw off my personal pressure on God. I take my hands off, placing  pressure in God’s hands. I know from His Word and experience that He manages pressure much better than I ever will.
I am still not fond of pressure. Slowly but surely, I am learning how to take the pressure out of pressure by taking my pressure to the Lord.

Put some pressure on pressure by casting it on Jesus.

“Come to Me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My load is light.”                  Matthew 11:28-30​

A Word For Your Week: When the pressure is on, turn it off by taking it to God.