Moving from a place of Defeat to Victory

I spoke previously about spiritual insanity and we saw that this keeps us in a cycle of defeat and frustration. God, however, wants to take us from defeat to victory. He does this in four steps.

A good example is when as children we learn to ride a bike. All of us, at the start, will do something wrong that will cause us to fall. Most people learn from their mistakes and get back on and become competent riders. There are some people however who give up on bike riding saying it's not for them.

In our spiritual walk we can also find ourselves living a defeated life. We deal with our sin in a godly way but don't press on to live in the victory that God has for us.

When Joshua dealt with the sin of Achan that had affected the nation, God wanted the people to move on from that defeat to victory.
In Joshua 8:1 we see the four steps
1. Then the Lord said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
2. Take the whole army with you,
3. and go up and attack Ai.
4. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land.

Step one: God wants to assure Joshua of His presence and His support. So often we are fearful of moving forward. The devil adds to this fear by whispering discouragement into our thoughts. God says "Do not be fearful nor discouraged" as defeats are but a stepping stone to victory.

Step two: God wants us to learn from our mistakes. The army was defeated at Ai not only because of Achans sin but also that they did not inquire of God causing them to underestimate their enemy and overestimate their own strength. God says "this time take the whole army with you".

Step three: God will always re-test us to see if we have learnt our lesson. God takes Joshua back to the place of the previous defeat. As we deal with the defeats in our life, God will always take us back to be tested again. Hopefully, we will have learnt from our mistakes and be able to progress.

Step four: The last step is that we need to be aware that God has already given us the victory. Note the past tense God uses "for I have delivered...." The victory has been won our role is to be obedient to God's word and His leading and we will gain the victory.

As you can see, steps 1 and 4 are God's assurance and unchanging. The degree of our walking in victory revealed in steps 2 and 3 is dependent upon us. So let us not blame God, but look at ourselves, if we are not walking in the victory.

Roy Barrett
Pastor