“And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” Revelation 12:10-11

Many think that this scripture refers to those killed for their faith in God. I believe it means way more than that.

The scriptures are filled with those who suffered and bled for the kingdom of God. Who the scriptures are not filled with are those who couldn’t cut it–the ones who let their pain define who they are and quit and were taken out.

The only one I can think of is Judas. He had all of the gifts and training possible, but in the end his pain and fear defined him. The things he couldn’t let go of caused him to be remembered as THE villain in world history.

Too often, in scripture, heroes show up with no back story. Elijah, Elisha, John the Baptist show up cut, seemingly, from whole cloth. Their ministries transformed the world and keep transforming it. Their impact is still felt on their cultures. One of them even overcame what Paul called “The last foe to be conquered”–death, and walked into eternity without dying.

But dig a little deeper and you will see that that is not the only thing they have in common. They all lived by themselves in the wilderness. Do you think this is because they had satisfactory personal lives?

Honorable Mention

Hebrews chapter 11 contains some of the greatest stories of faith ever told. I have always been interested in this verse near the end:

“And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah…” Hebrews 11:32

I call this the “honorable mention” category. Men who had some great victories, but in the end, their pain defined them and they died far short of their destinies.

There was a prophet we knew pretty well who fits into this category. He overcame much in his childhood and honed his giftings and touched many lives, especially those of my family.

I have seen him reach into hell itself and pull people out and extinguish the flames. Sadly, though, his pain defined him. In the end, he died far too young, an empty husk of a man, so far short of who he could have been.

I have seen many others accomplish a few things in life, but couldn’t let go of the past, and ended up trapped by it. As long as there is breath, there is hope, but it seems that they have short circuited their destinies. They won’t even make it to honorable mention.

Being an Overcomer, or, not Letting Pain Define us

The ones who’s histories we do know, don’t have happy ones.

Joseph, it seems, could never catch a break. He stayed faithful even though everything fell against him until the day when he was seated on the throne of one of the greatest nation states in all of history.

Daniel’s parents were probably slaughtered in front of him. He lived a roller coaster of a life, and, as a result of not being defined by that, was given one of the greatest prophetic revelations in scripture.

Moses and Paul were born with everything the world has to offer–money, power, influence. There decision to pursue their destinies truly cost them everything. As a result, they had some of the most powerful ministries on earth.

Paul told us to “present our bodies as living sacrifices.” I told a friend a number of years ago, that being in the kingdom is about keeping our eyes on the ball. We must remember who we’re called to be and let everything else go.

Why we Fight

This fallen world is full of pain–more so for those of us who try to serve our God. It is easy to lose track of why we do this. That’s how we will give up. We forget why we fight.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to this: Jesus paid our debt for us because the only way we could pay for it ourselves is to burn in hell for all of eternity. He gave us this with no conditions. We can accept his free gift and live however we choose.

But his dream for us is to be overcomers. It’s not possible for us to repay him for what he did for us. The least we can do is fulfill his dream for our lives by letting go of the pain and fear and choosing not to love our lives even unto death.

This is how the devil is conquered, by us being willing to be overcomers in spite of all of the distractions.