Overcoming Challenges: The Need to See

Every human life is completed before it starts on earth according to Romans 8:29. That means all challenges we will face and every single battle we will ever fight has been overcome and won. Hence, we are sent on earth *already victorious* to act out the script in line with a divine purpose.

However, we often feel overwhelmed going through a particular phase of difficulty. When things don’t go the way we plan, many questions arise. Some from outside (the voice of family, friends, and sometimes mockers). But other times, we ask questions too ourselves. The situations we are faced with propels these questions. And when there are no answers, fear creeps in causing tears, weakness, and despair.

I had been through this place when God came to my aid. And being able to see the situation from his standpoint, I was stunned knowing it was a finished case before him Psalm 8:6. And while I had been worrying myself thin, He was busy on my behalf putting things in place for my testimony.

So I asked myself this question: why was I crying the whole time? Why the weakness and despair? Why did I feel like I had seen the end of the situation and was about to be shamed? Have you ever been in this place?

Truly, words had failed at this point. I did not have answers to any questions anyone would ask concerning the situation. But I just realized I didn’t have to. God is working on it; this I had seen from His word that He is mindful (thinking) of me – Psalm 8:4. And that is enough. After seeing by his word, I realized the picture of the situation flaunted before my eyes was not the true picture with God. And here’s the deception.

When you are going through challenges, what do you see?

This is what it takes to win any battle on the side of earth. It is funny that you are the one who is required to see because God is not confused about your situation and a shocking truth is ‘neither is the devil’.

The life of a believer is one that has been completed even before it starts on earth. That is why it can start in the first place. It has been designed and approved successful. So it is kick-started on the earth by birth. And it proceeds through growth at different stages.

Often time, we see growth physically. But man is spirit, soul, and body. So it is necessary that growth cuts across all areas, else we’d have an imbalanced human being: a full-grown man who is still a baby mentally and spiritually. Imagine, what good can such one bring to himself and the world at large? Hence, the need for challenges.

So the furnace we face in challenging situations isn’t intended to burn us but to groom us. And they all have expiry dates, no matter protracted it may seem.
It is good to understand this and it is necessary to see as God says it: we are allowed to experience temptations that we’ve been approved to overcome. Nothing beyond you will be given to you because the goal is not for you to fall and be destroyed.

Moreover, the true situation of your challenge as God sees it is that you have overcome. It is victory in the finished work of Christ. God sees it. The devil sees it as well. But what do you see? As much as you have the victory, you can’t take it until you see it. And here’s what the devil does: he magnifies the situation before your eyes like Nebuchadnezzar would instruct that a furnace which can already burn alive be increased to burn seven times hotter than normal.

What was the goal with that instruction? Fear. Dread. He wanted to stop the eyes of the three Hebrew boys from seeing God’s ability to save by magnifying the situation beyond normal. But really, did a seven-fold-hotter-than-normal fiery furnace hold any weight with God when He appeared?

A word from a prayer meeting I attended recently highlighted that the earth does not have the capacity to withstand the agenda of God for a life. That includes every challenge you are faced with. No matter how magnified and terrifying it becomes, a word from God will wave it off like dust and give you rest on every side.

So labour to see. This is the great work of a believer. Labour to see your victory. It is not about your physical reality. This is subject to submission to the will of God. Whatever you are going through at the moment can change. But what God sees about you does not change. So you need to see beyond the physical situation to the true state of things with God.

Every battle you face on earth is intended for your growth by God. But the devil seeing this and understanding the human limitation of five senses attempts to use challenges to becloud your mind and block your eyes from seeing the truth. The cheapest way to defeat him and gain your victory is to see what he is keeping you from seeing.

It’s a battle of blindfold and a victory of sight. But the true state of victory is certain 1John 5:4. So you must labour to see it. You labour with word study, word sessions, and meditations. You labour with prayers and fasting. You labour in exercise of faith and with the decisions for holy living. One bait of sin is that places a blindfold.

If your battle on earth is to see, then you need less blindfold and more clear sight. So when you make the decisions for holiness, living in submission to the word of God as a guide for your life, you are simply making a decision to see clearly to be more victorious in every battle. Otherwise, your victory is guaranteed but until you see it, you may not receive it.

That was all it required in my story – the ability to see the true situation of things as it stood before God. Then, my strength was restored. My confidence was intact and my words were calculated, giving thanks to God and declaring my victory with rest in my heart, and a resolution not to even think about what God was already thinking about on my behalf.

If this story inspires you as much it does me, here are some simple things you can start doing now:

1. Give your life to Christ for what it truly means. That means count the cost and go in fully if you will or don’t if you won’t. Either way, there is always a price to pay. But the most unrewarding position is to be an unfruitful Christian.

This you sign up for when you won’t do Christianity fully: being a believer who is no different from the unbeliever. The word of God makes no meaning to you: you won’t receive, won’t believe, won’t obey it but you are nonetheless born again.

You can leave this position if you decide to. Accept the grace of God as it is available and live in total submission to God.

2. Help your eyes by truly placing the word of God before you. Make time to study. Use every avenue to fill your eyes, your ears, and your heart with the word of God: attending church services, listening to messages at every opportunity on Tv, radio, with your phones, systems, every single opportunity you get.

Sometimes, it helps to just keep it playing on in the background even if you aren’t actively listening to it.  You sanctify your environment when you do and make it easy for your spirit to pick up the right things that help you see clearly.

3. Prayer and fasting. I love this scripture so much because it highlights this truth in very plain terms:

Jeremiah 33:3 *Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.*

It is an instruction to call. We call in prayers. And we have the assurance that He will answer and “show us” certain things which we do not know but need to know. If we didn’t have need of this, I bet He wouldn’t have mentioned it as God is not known to joke with words.

Mind you, this is more than a physical activity. We don’t see the things of God with our physical eyes. We see it with our spirit. The spirit of man is the candle of God. Candle is a medium through which light can come. But it needs to be lighted. The same way, when a man needs to see, his spirit is lighted by the spirit of God then He begins to see what even his physical eyes cannot doubt.

The spiritual realm is real as much as we do not see it physically. A channel into this realm is the Bible. The eyes we use to see into this realm is our spirit. The Bible is a living pulsating book because the word of God is spirit as much as it is in letters. You see the letters with your physical eyes but you will only see the spirit activity behind it with your spirit.

Hence the need to back up prayers with fasting. Fasting simply helps your spirit to come alive being freed from the weight of distractions. Studying in this environment, your spirit will be lighted easily.

This is plenty to take in already. But just in addition, you don’t have to struggle with this. Ask for grace and take advantage of the opportunities around you.

Hilariously, I just did a 2-day dry fast for the first time. And it was simply because I had to stay with a friend who was in a 3-day dry fast. I was intrigued at it. I wasn’t going to tempt her to eat and I certainly could use some prayers and fasting too so I gave it a try. The difference is loud. Just mentioning that opportunities abound.

So if you truly want to pray, many prayer platforms, online and remote exist already. If you want to fast, take advantage of the opportunities around you. If you will struggle on your own, perhaps ask someone to join you or commit to a platform through which you can do this easily given it already exists there.

LTBreviews is one platform, and today, as is our custom every Friday is our Day of Waiting. It’s an opportunity to pray, fasting and studying as we seek guidance for our lives through books. And it is open to all as long as you are seeking the same thing. Interested? Join in here: bit.ly/LTBreviews. But by all means, give this message the opportunity to be fruitful in you.

Take action now!