The Responsibility in Victory

There are a lot of opinions about what "victorious Christian living" looks like. You have the legalists who measure such a life by how well a person performs at keeping numerous rules and regulations. You have the pacifist Christians who view such a life as one devoid of personal responsibility and simply say, "If it be God's will..." Then there are the rest of us; rational, Bible-believing Christians who struggle to understand what "abundant life" really means.

I don't believe God strips us of our ability to think, reason, or make choices after we receive Christ as our Savior. In fact, I believe we think clearer, reason more soundly, and have better vision for making right choices as a Christian than we ever did before our salvation. But we have a responsibility to walk in the truth, and this requires knowledge and understanding.

God shares some great insights into living in victory in Proverbs 2. We first learn that the knowledge and understanding we need comes directly from God (v. 6). And we are assured in James 1:5 that God is quick to give wisdom to those who ask. It is critical to receive our instruction from God's Word in order to know that our knowledge and understanding are based on the truth.

What's really exciting to me in this passage in Proverbs is what we learn in verse 7, "He [God] holds victory in store for the upright; he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless." Did you catch it? God provides the victory, but it comes with a condition. He holds it in store for the upright, or the righteous. Previous to this verse we are charged to seek insight and understanding (that which is only revealed by knowing God) as if searching for silver or hidden treasure. There is a responsibility on our part to pursue wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. In other words, God gives victory to those who vigorously pursue Him.

Obviously, there are instances in which God, in His mercy, fights our battles for us. But the principle of victorious Christian living is that God is stretching our faith by challenging us to pursue Him, and in so doing reap the rewards of victory, protection, and understanding (vv. 8-11).

I guess it all really boils down to where my heart is pointed. Is it bent toward my Savior, or am I allowing it to be entertained and seduced by the lies of the world. It is a tough challenge to keep my heart's attention focused on pursuing Christ. But as I do, I find there is peace, joy, and powerful victory.

Searching for silver,

jonathan