“I am no victim; I live with a vision.” – Kristene DiMarco
The enemy is out to destroy your purpose and vision.
“Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." – 1 Peter 5:8
However, deception is his only real power. One of his strategies is to deceive you to make you believe you are a victim. If you believe you are a victim you are already beat.
The devil knows that if he can get people to identify as a victim they will not operate in the victory they already have. The devil wants to steal your future and he will use other people’s choices and circumstances to make you feel stuck – but you are not.
In John 5, Jesus comes to a man laying at the pool of Bethesda who had been unable to walk for thirty-eight years. When a person has been sick that long it doesn’t just affect their body, it affects their mind and the way they see themselves. We can learn a lot from the interaction between Jesus and this man.
When Jesus saw, him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” – John 5:6-7
The very first thing Jesus asked this man is, “Do you want to get well?”
Do you?
Do you want to get over your past?
Do you want to stop being a victim?
Do you want to be victorious?
If you are operating from a victim mentality you won’t take responsibility for your actions and the state of your life.
It is interesting that this man did not answer Jesus with a “Yes,” but instead gave Jesus the excuse for why he couldn’t.
It doesn’t matter what has happened to you in your past. It does not define your future. Stop the excuses for why something can or cannot happen in your life and ask yourself this one question – Do you want it to change?
This man’s reason for why he could not get well was not a problem for Jesus.
Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. – John 5:8-9
This man thought he needed another person to help him but all he needed was to turn to Jesus. All you need is Jesus.
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” – Romans 8:37
Regardless, of what has happened to you, you are more than a conqueror. The enemy has already been rendered powerless. We are not victims; we are victors. Walk in your identity, let go of the past, and be the victorious overcomer you already are.