Victory vs. Victorious

So often we can become discouraged by how we handle a battle in our lives. At times this can be so severe that even when we have made it through it doesn’t feel much like a victory. When we look at the battle all we can see is the number of times we were knocked down. I once had a very wise friend share a message on the role of a husband and father and he made a comment that has stuck with me. He said that fairytales have taught us to look for a knight in shining armor, a handsome prince as it were. Then he said all that shining armor told him is that the knight who wore it had never been in a battle.

Don’t be lured into thinking that because someone appears to cross the finish line with flare that they have run the race well. It during that message that I realized we need to look for a knight whose armor is dented and damaged because it tells you that he has fought the battle and emerged victorious. He may drag himself across the finish line but that just means that he gave everything he had to accomplish his mission. So if you feel like you have waged a spiritual battle over some area in your life don’t measure your success by the state of your armor gleaming in the sun at the end but instead by the effort you gave and the fact that you didn’t quit on the battlefield. You pressed through until your mission was accomplished!

Remember you celebrate the win but you learn from the battle. There is a difference between gaining a victory and being victorious.