I Will Overcome

Lord, I know that my heart is hurting
And Lord, I know that my soul, it aches
And I know that it seems I'm failing
But I will overcome

I start out each morning with the best of intentions; each day is another chance to do my best and give my all. I intend to do good... but evil is right there with me. Sometimes it seems as though I cannot do anything right. I mean to be productive, but I opt for laziness instead. I mean to be kind, but I end up being cruel or indifferent. It's as though, from the moment I wake up each day, all of life is set against me, setting me up to fail.

"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do."

-Romans 7:15

However, when I find my thoughts turning that way, I realize that I have come to accept a lie. I accept that this is 'just the way it is.' But in truth, life was never meant to be this way. We were never meant to endure failure, futility and frustration. The human race was never meant to come to this place, where the wrong often seems so much stronger than the right. We were meant for perfection... but we ended up here. (Genesis 3:1-24)

In truth, life is not set against me. Life is what I have in Christ, in abundant measure, pouring out of His heart directly into mine, so much that it overflows. But I do have an Enemy, who has been set against me and bent on my destruction since the day I was born. I have to remember that Satan wants me to accept that this is 'just the way it is.' He wants me to keep my head down, mind my own business, and endure quietly all the wrongs he has inflicted upon the world.

Well, this may be 'just the way it is', but I know a better way. I know that things can be different--were meant to be different--all along.

"We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one."

-1 John 5:19

Only the world is under Satan's control; I am free from it. I am a child of God. The distress and agony of the world are not mine; to me they are 'light and temporary troubles.' If I can remember that, and hold on to that--to the truth that the world was never meant to be this way, and God understands that we've been thrust into a terrible situation not of our own making--then I can also remember this: Even though it's not my fault, I can still do something about it.

"God knows our situation; He will not judge us as if we had no difficulties to overcome. What matters is the sincerity and perseverance of our will to overcome them." -C. S. Lewis

I am reminded of a scene from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. At this point, Frodo has been put through the wringer. He has felt defeated, and in a moment of weakness, he very nearly gives in to the power of the Ring. At the last moment, Sam pulls him back. All is not lost. But now Frodo has to contend with the crushing weight of guilt and failure... and he finds himself unable. And so, beaten and defenseless, he whispers to Sam, "I can't do this."

"I can't do this, Sam."

"I know--it's all wrong. By rights, we shouldn't even be here... but we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo--the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were, and sometimes you didn't want to know the end, because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was, when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines, it'll shine out the clearer. Those are the stories that stayed with you, that meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand; I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going, because they were holding on to something."

"What are we holding onto, Sam?"

"There's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it's worth fighting for!"

Satan will only be victorious if I give in. If I give way to despair, then he has won. I have to remember that hopelessness is a lie. A new day is coming, but until it comes, I must persevere. I must live, in defiance of darkness, the best life that I can, giving my all for God's sake. The devil will make sure that I have many chances to give up, but I can still hold on. The One who is in me is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)