Letting Defeat Be Your Victory

Some days are just hard.

As I sit here looking out the big window at the pouring rain splashing violently against the glass only inches away from my face, I just sit still. As I think about the long list of worries and fears on my heart, I feel the tug of defeat. But I know despite my feelings, I need to stand strong in the victory I already have.

In the moments I least believe the truth, I have to tell myself the truth even louder.

Because I refuse to let The Enemy win, and I refuse to let a difficult season define my entire life.

As I sit here and look at the mountains outside, I remember the story of Nehemiah in the Bible where God asked him to rebuild the Temple. He worked and worked and worked despite the opposition from others. He didn't let their discouragement or the hot sun and the heavy labor get to him. His response to his "haters" was this:

"They were just trying to intimidate us, imagining that they could discourage us and stop the work. So I continued the work with even greater determination." Nehemiah 6:9


When people try and hold us back, or The Enemy throws defeat at us over and over again, or even when we are crippled by the battles we fight within ourselves, let it be an opportunity to fight back even harder. Let it be a reason to stand stronger in the promise you were given.

Satan knows if he can get you to doubt your purpose even just a tiny bit, that he can funnel his way in to get you to give up completely.

Don't be intimidated by words or discouragement or the opinion of another, because those things have absolutely no power over you unless you let them.

You were created to carry out a purpose that only YOU can. People need the hope that YOU were made to give to them. Someone needs the love that God graced YOU to pour out on them.

Next time you feel defeated, remind yourself that the victory is already yours because Jesus defeated defeat the same day He defeated death... Often Satan is most active in our lives right before God is about to do something huge through us.

So shake off the lifeless discouragement from the outside, because you were made for so much more than letting their voices define you.

The harder we work in the field, the more fruitful the crop at harvest time.

You were made to do something far bigger than accept the limitations placed on you. You were made to break out of the box and build your own.

Wherever you are and whatever God has given you as your "work" or your purpose, refuse to let the feeling of defeat BE your defeat.

Let your defeated spirit be an avenue to sweeter victory. 

Pick yourself up, dust off the discouragement, and continue the work with even greater determination.

-Han