Living Above or Below

Look around.

Have you ever noticed that those who rely on life’s circumstances to be happy eventually come to the conclusion that there’s nothing good about God?

That’s not to say circumstances should never be addressed or corrected. But nothing in the Bible suggests that choosing to be Jesus Christ’s disciple guarantees happiness. C. S. Lewis even said: “I didn’t go to religion to make me ‘happy.’ I always knew a bottle of port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.”

I can’t have it both ways.

If Jesus is always creating happy circumstances for me, then there’s nothing to overcome in this world. On the other hand, if I choose to emulate the apostle Paul, I’m probably not gonna be overly concerned about life’s circumstances:

“Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity. In any and every [circumstance] I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” [Phil. 4:11-13; from his letter to all the saints in Christ Jesus who (were) in Philippi] [my emphasis]

[μυέω: (mū-êh-ōh] to learn a secret]

As Jesus Christ’s disciple, overcoming the world is the engine I fire up every morning, and my faith is the fuel which drives its pistons. [see: 1Jn. 5:4-5] Circumstances were irrelevant to Him. He did, however, promise some pretty amazing rewards to those of us who choose to rise above them:

“…to him who is overcoming, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.” [Rev. 2:7]

“…he who is overcoming will not be hurt by the second death.” [Rev. 2:11]

“…he who is overcoming, and he who is keeping My works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations.” [Rev. 2:26]

[νικάω: (nî-kâ-ō) to overcome, to conquer, to prevail]

We choose to live either above our circumstances or beneath them. If I truly belong to Christ, my faith is the only thing that can sustain me if my goal is to live an obedient lifestyle to His will. While circumstances certainly impact my life, they should be the consequences of my decisions rather than the primary means of making them.

That’s how the world can identify an overcomer.