Today we invite you to Embrace Victory.

For our Embrace Leaders, you can find the monthly questions for May in your inbox or on our Leader’s page HERE.

This month only I am happy to share our devotional that precedes the questions for May. If you’re interested in being a part of an Embrace group near you, or you’d like to register as a leader, please see our Embrace page HERE.

“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Exodus 14:14 (NIV)Living a victorious life means you are forgiven, redeemed, fully dependent on God, equipped, passionate, and poised to face adversity.First, we must confront our sin-nature. The Bible tells us we are all sinful from birth (Romans 3:23). We can’t save ourselves and we don’t get a free pass! It is only through faith in Jesus Christ that we can receive forgiveness of sin and full salvation. Jesus conquered death and won the victory over sin when he He bled, died and rose again. He has defeated the enemy through the cross! Living a victorious life begins by accepting Jesus as your Savior.

We know that you can’t have a victory without a battle. The enemy is not going to retreat willingly. There will be days when you feel out-numbered and out-armed. Sometimes you will feel fear surround you and it may feel like the enemy is closing in. Jesus didn’t promise us a life free from adversity.

But He did promise that we can be victorious through Him! 

In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; 
I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 (ESV)

A strange dichotomy is this: victory comes in surrender, but not to the enemy – to Jesus! Here we set aside our feelings and cling to our faith. We stand firm, armor on (Ephesians 6), feet planted in the truth and promises we find in God’s Word. When you are fully relying on God, you begin to walk in obedience. Panic turns into trust. Fearful actions turn into decisions bathed in prayer. You begin to see that the battle belongs to the LORD. The focus returns to the ONE who is fighting for you!

It is important to remember this:
GOD GETS THE GLORY.

When we achieve victory, we need to be careful to return the praise to God.

Its not really accurate to say that God will not give us more than we can handle. If that were true, we wouldn’t need Him and He would not receive the glory. It wasn’t Moses who split the sea so the Israelites could walk through to safety. It was GOD. Faced with an impossible situation, they had to fully rely on God and He led them to victory and destroyed the enemy!

Truth is, on our own, we would be crushed by the enemy with every self-glorifying blow. It is God who fights for us. Our job is to stand firm in faith and walk in full surrender to His perfect will.

Over what do you need the victory in your life today? Are you trying to fight on your own – relying on your own strength? Surrender to the ONE who will fight for you and find peace in His everlasting arms of love.

You split the sea so I could walk right through it;
You drowned my fears in perfect love.
You rescued me and I will stand and sing:
I am child of God!

-Bethel Music