Live Victoriously

1 Corinthians 9:24: “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.”

Everyone desires to live victoriously; even God wants His children to live a victorious life. In order for us to live a victorious life, the first thing we must have is a winning mentality.

Someone who has a winner’s mentality does not give up easily. This person knows that deep down in his heart he is determined to achieve his dreams and aspirations no matter what happens in life. They will not let other people, their environment, situations, and problems paralyze and discourage them.

Aside from having a winner’s mentality, a victorious life is determined by a person’s character. An important character for a winner is their ability to persevere in order to finish the race. A lot of people become discouraged and give up halfway through which makes their lives become erratic and without purpose.

As children of God, we have to persevere and finish our race in this life by acting on God’s vision and His will for our lives. We must continue to focus on the Lord and not on things that could distract us away from the Lord. Good endurance can only be achieved if we live close to God. Someone who lives close to the Lord will always have their strength renewed and refreshed.

Another characteristic of a winner is self-control. The idea of self-control speaks of our ability to control our emotions, our words, our actions and fleshly desires. People who have good self-control will know when to stay still and when to act. Even when people around them are showing emotions and bad behavior, they will not be affected.

Winners also have a specific focus in their lives (1 Corinthians 9:26B: “Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air”). When we focus on God’s calling, we will no longer live carelessly. Apostle Paul understood clearly God’s calling for his life and that’s why he was able to fulfil God’s calling despite the persecutions he had to endure. We have to be careful with how we live our lives as the devil will try to distract us with things that satisfy our worldly and fleshy desires. The devil knows that when our focus is shifted away from the Lord, he can easily control our lives.

Let us continue to build our characters accordingly so that we can finish this race victoriously. God bless all of you.

Source: hs/Publishing Team, IBC Church