"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.' 2 Timothy 4:7-8

Girls, we do not achieve righteousness without fighteousness. I can not tell you the name of one individual sanctified by a passive practice of Christianity. No crowns have been earned by any human save through overcoming trial and tribulation. Paul knew this full well. Stonings, beatings, humiliation, rejection were all his earthly sentence for an exemplary faith yet he pressed on for the verdict and reward of a Righteous Judge.

My faith has not been an easy one. I have experienced many heartaches, weathered devastating storms, and revisited debilitating old wounds. I can honestly say Christ has blanketed every hurt of my heart with His Word and continues to fill every needy place. There are still many periods of time when the voice of Satan says, 'you can't take one more day of this. It will destroy you to be obedient. Why is He so strict with you and not her? He wants way too much from you. Just lay it down.' That voice can be so winsome, the way it coos and beckons. That evil, slumber-inducing lullably can only be silenced with a Holy Spirit smack of the cheeks which calls, "Wake Up! Fight! You are stronger than this...Not in your power, but Mine."

I am reminded once again of another verse that has spoken so freshly to me these past two weeks,

"I have written to you , fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the Word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one." 1 John 2:14

Where the Word of God abides, there stands an Overcomer. There is a wife who will not grow weary in well-doing. There is a mother who will persevere. There is a daughter who loves nothing more than His Appearing.

There is a woman with some Fighteousness.

I would love for you to visit my personal blog, The Preacher's Wife.

Labels: Encouragement, Endurance, Lisa's Articles, victory