Operation Overcome

At every stage of a horse's training, he has to overcome something.  In the beginning, he has to overcome his fear of people, being led in a strange contraption around his head and nose, being saddled, having his feet picked up and trimmed and later having a man get up on his back and ride in the most vulnerable spot on his body.  The quicker he learns to overcome, the faster he learns.  He must not only learn to overcome, but to overcome with a good and willing attitude.  He learns not to buck, but to stay calm and on the ground before he can ever be taught maneuvers.  Then he is introduced to many more strange situations before he finally becomes a valuable and solid competitor.  He cannot overcome something unless he comes face to face with it.  He can never become a valuable rodeo horse staying at home in his pasture.  He has to face bands, flags, crowds, and many other situations and overcome them to become valuable.  The more he overcomes, the higher his value becomes.  He either becomes an overcomer or he is overcome. 

The word overcome then has a double meaning.  If he is overcome, he does not have the ability to conquer.  If he becomes an overcomer, he has the ability to conquer and to gain the superiority over.  He got the better of his fears and became a focused performer.  His rewards will be many and they will come in the form of winning money and awards. 

A person will never know what they can overcome until they are put into situations that they have never faced.  Some situations that we face leave us with the feeling that we are overwhelmed or have been overcome.  But, if we walk on, keep on and stay on target toward our goals, we will overcome.  When I recently read in Revelation where Jesus Christ told John to write to the churches, I saw that all the rewards are for overcomers.  Read Revelation in Chapters 2 and 3 and see how many times it says, " to him that overcomes I will give......".    We cannot let the things that come our way in this life overcome us.  We must become overcomers.  It is like building muscles.  You will not know how strong your muscles are until you try to lift something.  The more we face and conquer through prayer, fellowship and the Word of God, the stronger we become.  I can face things today that I would have had a hard time facing when I was 20. 

Remember that we cannot become overcomers until we are faced with something to overcome and conquer. We must not let the happenings on the news send us down, but rather let them send us closer to growing in knowledge of God.  Grace and Peace are multiplied through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.  (2 Peter 1:2)  He is our source of strength.  The more we run to Him, the stronger we become.  The weaker  we are, the stronger He becomes in us.   His strength is made perfect in our weakness.  (2 Corinthians 12:9)  So, to become an overcomer is not to try to "gut it out" and raise yourself up, but to submit and lower yourself to your knees.   Just as the great overcoming horse learned to trust his handler in all situations, we must place our trust in the handler of our soul.  He alone knows our future.  You may as well rest in Peace because His eye is upon all those who have trusted in Him.  He who watches the sparrows has my life and my future in His hands.  Osama Ben Laden was used of the devil to bring harm.  What the devil meant for harm,  God is using for good.  May you think of yourself this week looking for situations to become an overcomer.  Operation Overcome will be completed in your life when:

Panic turns to peace

Striving turns to release

Passivity turns to passion

Disaster turns to devotion

Trials turn into testimonies

Fear turns into freedom and faith

Challenge turns into commitment

 and Control turns into Trust.