Conqueror
Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve realised that all the dreams you once had have stopped? Maybe you still have the dream but there is only a glimpse of it? Maybe you`re in a life phase where nothing lines up with the dream you have?
People like me, who are chronically ill, have one main dream in their life. It`s the dream of being fully restored in the body and being released from the sickness, treatments, medication, pain and hardships that we face day by day. Despite the fact that all these things make us stronger, it`s still our greatest desire to live a “healthy” life!
We all have dreams and dreaming is one of the most beautiful things we can do on planet Earth! Being able to envision ourselves in a state, phase or condition that is far better than our current one is one of the greatest abilities God has given us!
But dreaming is not always that simple, especially when it looks or feels like that you`re far away from the dream!
I`m calling this month’s blog Conqueror because once we start to dream, we move into a state where we are looking out for something better, for something that we want to fight for! Being a conqueror takes a lot of strength, bravery, persistence, positivity, faith and the will to get up everyday with a strong conviction that what we dream of will become reality.
In this blog, I want to encourage and inspire you about how to stay on the track that leads to your dream and enables you to be a conqueror!
1. Remember it’s a process
You will always find resistance against whatever it is you dream of being or doing in the future. It might be circumstances; people who don`t believe in you or believe that your dream is possible; or your own thoughts which tell you that it`s better to give up than to fight for it!
In Western society, we so often want things quickly, we want the progress without the process1, and sometimes we even forget that we need to fight for the things we need to have in order to achieve the dream!
God`s dream is that all people are reconnected to Him in a loving relationship so in return, they too can be in a loving relationship with Him. The dream God has, was once a reality (Genesis 1) but things broke down when the first humans rebelled against Him (Genesis 2&3). But He never gave up on His dream to be in relationship with us humans! Getting back to what once was reality, He fought for over thousands of years, in order to find a way to restore humanity to Himself.
God loves it when we dream big because He wants us to make the most of our life! But He also gives us the start for the dream; He lays a purpose in us, which leads to dreams that are far bigger than we can imagine! God’s purpose for us is to enter eternal life and then help people so that they too can join heaven, where there won`t be anything bad anymore!
1 Timothy 6:12 says: “Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses.“ (NLT)
Whether your dream is to make yours and/or someone else’s world a better place, fight the good fight! God is working in you and in people around you, more than you can see or imagine!2 He is with us in our development and He changes us the way we need to be changed and He helps us not to quit. The process can last for many months and years, but once we arrive at the height of the dream, we can usually see that it was worth the pain and endurance!
2. Change your perspective
During the change process we grow, we get stretched and our character becomes stronger. Sometimes we are aware of this process, yet other times the growth, stretching and strengthening happen but we’re don’t realise until later. In those times it`s very easy to give up and throw everything aside! But this is more a matter of perspective than of the work itself. I like what Steven Furtick says: “Your perspective can either become your prison or your passport.“ 3
One of my favourite verses is Colossians 3:2 which says “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things“ (NIV)
We can either identify with positive or negative thoughts when it comes to our dream(s). The battle always begins in the mind and when we fight it, we end up with a better and healthier perspective. This brings changes in what we believe about our position and what we to achieve. Our position is not where we are right now; our position is in Christ and where He wants us to be in our God-given destiny! Changing perspective helps us to remember our identity in Christ4; it renews our thought life which helps us to create new internal standards; we recognize that the past is the past because change doesn`t happen when hanging on to old habits – we need to replace the old habits with new ones!
3. Consider it all joy
Being developed as a conqueror and fighting the battle in our mind can be tough and it requires a lot of faith to believe and to fight for something that is not yet seen! But it can also be a great opportunity for yourself and others to grow.
James 1:2-4 talks of this when it says: “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.“ (NLT)
We only can find joy in the midst of troubles when we know what the dream or destiny is. Fighting for a dream and staying committed never gets unnoticed. The reward will always be more than expected, as it says in the last part of the verse; “you will be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (emphasis added). And always remember, you`re a…
Conqueror!
I hope you have received a huge infusion of encouragement and inspiration this month! If there is anything I can help you with in regards to your dream or destiny, please get in touch, as I would love to help you!
Be blessed
Nathanael
#conqueror #Blog7 #itsallaboutHim
Reference
-
Steven Furtick, Hillsong Conference 2016, Sydney, The glitch that keeps on giving
-
Carl Lentz, Hillsong Conference 2016, Sydney, You`re in progress
-
Steven Furtick, Hillsong Conference 2016, Sydney, The chain reaction
-
John Maxwell Leadership Bible, Self discipline: The battle begins in the mind, Page 1484