Victory Is Yours Today!

Christian author Chuck Swindoll once wrote, “Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it.”

I love that quote. It says our attitude makes all the difference.

Some things you can’t change. You can’t control someone else’s behavior. You can’t control what the government does or larger movements in society. According to the quote, all of these things are only 10 percent of life. The rest is how you react to it.

Really, you have two choices for your reaction. One is to allow your circumstances to have power over you. That’s a victim mentality. The other option is to stand above your circumstances. That’s a victor mentality.

A victim mentality rests on faulty, negative beliefs, such as: Bad things always happen to me. Other people or circumstances are to blame for my problems. Any efforts to create change will fail, so why even try?

A victor mentality is characterized by accurate, positive beliefs, such as: Bad things happen, but I won’t be overcome by them. I accept responsibility for my own attitude and choices. With God’s help, I can change for the better.

God is clear about which mentality He wants for us. 1 Corinthians 15:57: “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” He gives us the victory. Today. Now.

As a result, Scripture teaches us to respond to life with a winning attitude. The final verse of the great resurrection chapter: “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.” (1 Corinthians 15:58) Those are not words of futility. Those are words of great purpose and joy!

Victory is yours today!

For more, here’s the sermon from this past weekend: