Faith overcomes the world

Resolving Personal &  Spiritual Conflicts
1 John 5:4 And this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.

This world is full of troubles. Sometimes the troubles are so overwhelming that we want to give up on life and even on God. The grip of sickness can cause restlessness for both the sick and those caring for the sick. Financial distress can influence some people to commit suicide. Uncontrollable habits causes despair. Family strife causes confusion and hopelessness. Unemployment and loss of what we hold near and dear exert untold pressure on the little minds of mortal men and women. In the face of all the tribulations of life, how are we to survive?

 Jesus gave us a clue to how we can survive in this hostile world: “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). In this scripture two things are certain. One of them is that there is tribulation in this world. We live in a fallen world where Satan is a god. This explains why there are all sorts of evil and suffering. Someone once complained, “If God is love, why doesn’t he do something about all the suffering and evil in this world?”  Well, it is a fact that problems are part and parcel of this world. The other certain thing in the statement of Christ above is that Jesus overcame the world. So the answer to our friend’s complaint about God doing something about the suffering and evil in this world is that God has already done something. God sent Christ into this world to redeem it from Satan, sin and evil. Christ has successfully begun the process of redemption which will be completed when He comes the second time. Suffering, sorrow, and death will cease completely then. But as for now we will continue to live in a hostile world and the way to survive is to connect ourselves to Jesus Christ who overcame the challenges of this world. It is well to ask our complaining friend, “Are you connected to the overcomer of this world – Christ Jesus?
Faith in Jesus Christ is what connects us to the victory of Christ over this world. If you are connected by faith to Christ, you will overcome the world too. This is a reason for being of good cheer. Faith is a powerful connection. It causes you to enjoy the benefits of Christ’s victory over this world. In fact, the Bible says that your faith overcomes the world. It is written in 1John 5:4 “For whatever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.” To survive the troubles and tribulations of this world you absolutely need to be born of God who has already overcome the world. And to be born of God is accomplished by putting your faith in Jesus Christ. “Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”

You probably already know this: Most people everywhere have no problems with believing in the existence of God. The problem lies in believing that Jesus is the Son of God. Believing in the truth that Christ came as a man in this world and overcame its troubles as a man causes us to want to walk in the same overcoming steps of Christ. But if we do not believe in the incarnation of Christ life in this world becomes hopeless. Christ has shown us how to overcome this world. More than that, He has overcome the world on our behalf.  Even more than that, He is now in us overcoming the world through us. Believing in Him means accepting His nature of victory. Believing in Him means receiving the tools by which to overcome the world. Believing in Christ is more than just accepting Him as your Lord and Saviour. It means living your life according to what He says to you by His word and by His Spirit. When the scripture says that the just live by faith it means ordering your life everyday and everywhere according to the will and purposes of God. Anyone who succeeds in doing this will soon realise that he or she is an overcomer of this world after the manner of Christ. To the degree that you live your life independent of Christ, to that same degree you suffer defeat in this world.

Overcoming the world means that you are no longer controlled by the things of this world. You are no longer moved by what happens around you but you are only moved by what God says to you through His word and His Spirit. When you are no longer moved by what situations of life dictate to you, Satan would have lost his strongest grip on you. He uses what happens in the world to challenge your faith, to tempt you and to frighten you. But when nothing in the world moves you, you are dead to the world and the world is dead to you. This is the basis of the faith that overcomes the world; the faith that is our victory as followers of Christ.
-For prayer and counselling call 0772889766 or email mairos78@yahoo.co.uk