Victory

As I drove past our little fire station in my small town the flag was at half mast...again. Again. How on earth was there another tragedy that was so atrocious that our flags were lowered once again? I feel like everywhere we turn tragedy lurks: another school shooting, child taken, soldier fallen, government up in arms, battle to fight. Oh, how easy it is to get caught up in this. We live in tumultuous times. But, just because our world is chaos does not mean we do not have victory. This past year, I witnessed a good friend journey through turmoil. I watched the valleys, mountain-tops, tears, battles, and now, victory. As we chatted last time we met she said something that I cannot shake. She said, "I almost feel bad about being happy; finding joy in my victory. She knew it was crazy but she was honest and real and vulnerable and I appreciated that. I got it; I understood. "The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord." Proverbs 21:31 I have heard over and over that victory rests in the Lord but I never really focused on the first half of this verse: the horse. I began to think about a race horse. The extent of their training and what makes a successful race horse is astounding. One thing that stuck out to me was that each horse has a specific fitness plan uniquely designed for that horse. This is done to prevent injury or what they call "lameness." If a horse became injured or lame, it could negatively affect their willingness to learn. Wow. People, we are the horse. God has designed a specific "fitness" plan for each of us. As He bends, shapes, and molds us He is trying to prevent us from becoming injured or lame. He wants us to remain teachable; able to learn and grow in our walk with Him so that we may be an extension of who He is while we are blessed with this life on earth. What happens when we step out of His plan for us? We become injured and lame. He cannot work through us if we step out of the unique plan He designed just for you. We cannot attain victory in its truest sense if we do not stick to His (fitness) plan. Back to my friend. She stuck to her Savior like super glue. I witnessed a journey of faith so real and fresh it was awe-inspiring. She didn't give up. She didn't walk away. Did she make mistakes. Absolutely. We all do as we journey through the mess. But she owned it, learned, and moved on. And now, NOW she has victory. However, her victory was hindered for a moment because of guilt, or what society has embedded in us that we should stay in the sadness, or, let's face it, Satan's lies. She could not fully rejoice in her victory because that is not today's normal. Today's normal is focusing on the sad, the heavy, the depressing waiting for the next tragedy for us all to gasp at and be so very thankfully that it didn't happen to us. Friends, the fitness plan He has for us may be difficult at times. It has to be. We cannot change if we are not stretched out of the comfortable. It's what we are going to do when the battle is won. Are we going to leave when things get tough and hurt thus injuring ourselves and making us lame or paralyzed? Or are we going to fight through the battlefield knowing our battle is already won? I can focus on the flags at half mast, the tragedies, the unexplained malice. Or, I can do what my friend taught me through her journey and rest; rest in knowing that the victory is His. Blessings, Megan