“It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” – Bonnie Louise Kuchler

“For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories.” – Plato

“Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” – Romans 8: 34-37 NIV

“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” – 1 Corinthians 15:57 NIV

Lately, I haven’t felt like much of a conqueror.  The battles of life have gotten the best of me – leaving me to feel more defeated than victorious.

David Jones once wrote, “It is both a blessing and a curse to feel everything so very deeply.”   I think when you are a Christian, having given your life to Christ, you quickly see and “so very deeply” embrace your failures and defeats – more so than the average human being.  This, of course, is a great blessing, but can be a curse that carries the heaviest of weights.  The blessing is the humility and the insight to see it, but the curse is the disappointment and conviction that follows it and often overpowers it.

So often as I stare at my failures, the discouragement is overwhelming!  If anyone should know better, it is me!  I know the right way, the right thing, the best approach, and the right attitude, but all that knowing hasn’t gotten me very far.  I can relate to the Apostle Paul when he wrote:

“For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”  – Romans 7: 18-19 NIV

Lately, physical weariness has a way of making me feel like anything but a warrior.  You don’t even feel capable of battle – thus winning or conquering seems highly unlikely.  For me, the greatest battles I encounter are in my mind – continually fighting old ways of thinking – getting trapped in thoughts of unworthiness, mistrust, and disbelief that God is truly there to support, to heal, and to give me the victory over areas of my life where I continually miss the mark.

I can feel just like Paul, getting up each day with great intentions and falling far short by day’s end.  Every day the cycle continues.  Trying and failing, looking deeply at the defeat and the resulting consequences and just wanting to give up.  Is it worth the fight anymore when failure seems inevitable?

How about you?  When you look at your own life, do you feel like a conqueror or more like a soldier who has severe battle fatigue?  Are you at a place where you just want to wave the white flag of surrender and give up entirely?

Has fighting the addiction become too much to handle?  Have the continual conflicts in your relationship left you feeling like there isn’t anything worth fighting for any longer?  Do you feel like you are losing the battle with your children – fighting for their attention and their acceptance to do what is right and good for their life?  Are you weary of setting any kind of admirable goal for your life anymore because the setbacks and failures are too many to count?  Has your battle with disease and sickness drained your resolve?

Sometimes I wonder if conquering anything is really within our grasp.  I wonder if what we are here to learn in this earthly life is that we alone are incapable of it?  I wonder if the objective isn’t really attaining personal victory at all as much as it is showing up for the battle?

The Apostle Paul was in a battle of some kind within his own life.  He referred to it as a “thorn in my flesh – a messenger of Satan sent to buffet me” (2 Corinthians 12:8).  He pleaded with God three different times to remove it from his life, and this was God’s answer:

“My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness.” – 2 Corinthians 12: 9 NKJV

Maybe the noble battle of conquering ourselves first, as Plato suggests above, is less about personal effort and achievement and more about leaning on God’s sufficient grace each day to give us the victory within our personal battles?  Maybe conquering ourselves is more about surrendering to God’s love for us and to His battle plans for us?  Maybe it is concluding that we are not the Conquistador within the battles we face, but the arsenal and strength to overcome, to conquer are found in God alone?

“Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” – 2 Chronicles 20:15 NIV

“For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:13 NLT

“Don’t be afraid. I’m with you. There’s no need to fear for I am your God. I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you. I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you.” – Isaiah 41:10 MSG

“And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” – Philippians 4:19 NIV

Today, my friend, let’s choose to focus less on our own abilities to win at life’s battles and to look to Christ – to embrace his love, his forgiveness, his strength, and his grace, which is more than sufficient within all the battles we face.

Praise God that through Christ, we ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS!  😊

God bless you today and always!