Overcoming the Storms of Life # 7: The Word of God declares that we are overcomers!

Yes, we all experience storms in life, but let’s not forget this truth.

The Word of God declares that we are OVERCOMERS!

1 John 5:4-5 (ESV) “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world.  And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.  Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

Mothers of Nations, Jesus puts our storms into perspective when He says in 1 John 4:4 “…for He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

Paul reminds us in Romans 8: 37 that “… in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” In Philippians 4:13 we are assured:  "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

We see that the Word of God has much to say about overcoming. Jesus tells us that a byproduct of the process of overcoming is the inner peace He brings us. John 17:27 (ESV) “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

Many times storms want to tempt us with fear, unrest, and lack of peace. And when this happens we must learn to press in closer to Him. The peace that Jesus brings is not the kind of peace the world offers:  a feeling affected by ever-changing circumstances. Rather, the peace Jesus gives is deep, lasting, powerful, and enables us to face any kind of storm that comes our way.

As a final personal example in my own facing of storms, let me share with you how we overcame a cyclone of chaos relating to the birth of our third grandchild. In 2010 our daughter and her husband were awaiting the birth of their first child.  As the due date arrived an unexpected cyclone of chaos swept into our family. Let me see if I can give you a short version of this very unexpected storm.

Our daughter Hannah is a nurse and she had a full, natural birth plan all prepared for her first baby. But as the baby refused to come and 16 days past the due date, the doctors required our daughter to be induced. Hour by hour pages and more pages of Hannah’s “natural birth plan” were tossed aside. More drugs for induction, an epidural, and papers signed for permission of a C-section if necessary became our whirling, unnerving circumstances. 

During the time of “pushing,” I went into the hallway to talk to my husband and as I caught him up with what was happening in the hospital room, he asked me how I was doing. Instantaneously tears flooded as I admitted this was a “déjà vu” moment of the memories I had of the loss of our own first baby.

Then my husband, not overtly flowing in spiritual gifts, became the voice of God in the midst of our chaotic cyclone that day as he reminded me of a note that a friend had written in a Christmas card to Hannah just nine months earlier – a note that made no sense to us then in December.

You see our kids had decided to not find out the sex of the baby before it was born.  Yet in this short little memo in the Christmas card, the sender said two things.  First, “everything is going to be all right.” Second, “Enjoy your new baby girl!” At Christmas those words were somewhat troubling.  What did they mean?  If this was really God, why did He say these things?

But now in the midst of this cyclone, the words of that note hit my spirit as a rhema Word from the Lord and I knew that I knew everything was going to be all right and instantaneously an unexplainable peace flooded my heart and mind. 

I went back in the hospital room and between contractions was able to remind Hannah of the words on that Christmas card note nine months earlier. I knew that I knew that I knew -- no matter what happened in the next moments, EVERYTHING WAS GOING TO BE ALL RIGHT! This was going to become a huge overcoming testimony of the goodness of God.

And then within the next few minutes things got even worse and our daughter was rushed to an operating room for an emergency C-section – the one thing she didn’t want to happen in her so perfectly created birth plan. But God!  He had a perfect plan that was bringing overcoming victory to all of us.

And within the next hour we were holding a healthy, strong, beautiful baby GIRL and our daughter had no other complications. The overcoming presence of the Lord had silenced the cyclone and the Word of the Lord about this new addition to our family prevailed.

Once again, years of training my spirit to hear His voice brought instant PEACE to an unexpected time of pressing fear and doubt. He IS our peace in the midst of all storms and He is faithful to make us overcomers in all situations.

Let’s take a moment now to thank the Lord for His overcoming power that He so generously provides for each of us.

Rev. Nola Beintema