You Can’t Have Victory in Christ if You’re Desiring to be a Victim

“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 12:11

Too many people want to be victims nowadays. They are never responsible for the positions they are in, ever, as they blame their circumstances, blame their parents, blame their spouses, blame society, blame the government, or blame any and every other source but themselves for their situations. They let their traumas inform their lifestyles, and, thus, become perpetual victims. Don’t get me wrong, people can do evil things, our lives DO have people and circumstances that shape us, but, eventually, we’re responsible for ourselves. When we stand before God, we will not be able to blame our parents, our upbringing, or anything else when the books of the Law are opened and we are held to account. Yet this is what the culture of victimization does: it keeps you controlled, whether by substance, by blaming and shaming, or keeping you chained to your problem. Victimization stunts your growth.

By getting you to say “it’s not my fault, and I can’t do any better,” the Prince of this world keeps you from realizing that healing, and, indeed, power, is found in Christ Jesus. His lie is a partial truth: we CAN’T fix ourselves.  That’s how he ensnares us: he gives us enough of the truth to be plausible. And the cage doors are open and inviting, and, indeed, comfortable. Yes, we’re comfortable as victims! It’s a safety net we use, because if I am not to blame, then whatever I do is not my fault. Again, this blinds us to the victory, healing and power that Christ has for us!

Loved ones, there IS victory in Jesus. It’s hard, absolutely, but when we see that He offers us victory instead of victimhood, it’s worth it, because HE is worthy! So how do we go from victim to victor? We must die. Perhaps not a physical death (though the ultimate victory does come when we leave this temporary body), but in letting Christ crucify our old self, bury us, and draw us forth a New Creation in Christ. We ARE born in to a world of destruction. We ARE born in a world broken by sin. But Jesus died, was buried and rose again to break the power of sin and death, and He can break the power of sin over you. He did it over me! So now, I am free, and you can be too!

Romans 8:31-

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;

we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 12:7-12

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 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. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

1 John 5:1-5

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

1 Corinthians 15:50-58

I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.