VL - Issue 43- April 22

PUBLISHER’S NOTE
Be Strong and Courageous
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V
ictorious Living maintains a constant
theme of hope and victory.
This magazine is all about sharing
personal testimonies of how God
helps people overcome incredible odds
and hardship. The life stories of our contributors
prove that there is no situation
too dark for God’s hope to illuminate and
no life too far gone that God’s love can’t
restore it.
While creating the content for this issue,
I realized how important courage is
in the life of a Christ-follower. Even from
the start, it requires courage to believe
that the God of the universe loves us and
desires an intimate relationship. Receiving
the simplicity of the Gospel as presented
in John 3:16 requires us to look
past fearful questions like: “What if God
fails me? What if I fail Him? What if people
reject me?”
In fact, believers need courage just to
live in daily surrender to the Lord. Surrendering
the controls of our lives makes us
feel vulnerable.
Google’s English dictionary defines
courage as “the ability to do something
that frightens one,” as well as “strength in
the face of pain or grief.” The Bible talks
a lot about being strong and courageous,
and that’s because God knew that every
day, we’d face frightening circumstances
and larger-than-life giants. In John 16:33,
He even said we could expect to experience
painful, against-all-odds encounters.
I’ve read that there are over 365 fearnot
commands in the Bible. That’s one for
every day of the year! The Lord knew we
would have to choose every day to either
succumb to fear or to trust Him.
How thankful I am that we don’t have
to drum up courage in our own strength.
Second Timothy 1:7 tells us that God gives
us a spirit of power and a sound mind to
overcome fear and other paralyzing emotions.
God Himself offers His mighty power
to help us stand firm (Ephesians 6:10).
As a professional athlete, I often faced
fear. In the 35 years I competed as a water
skier, I can’t recall a time that my heart
wasn’t racing before I stepped off the dock
and slid into the water. It was a mental battle
each time to corral the fear and replace
it with more positive thoughts. But in all
those years, I never let fear keep me on the
dock. I knew if I stayed on the dock of comfort
and perceived safety, I’d never stand
atop that world-championship podium.
Likewise, we won’t experience the victorious
life God has prepared for us if we
let fear keep us from God. It’s a daily decision
to corral fear and replace it with
God’s truth (2 Corinthians 10:5).
Every time God has invited me to trust
and follow Him, I have been scared to death!
Just like when I stepped off the water-
ski dock, my heart races and my knees
knock. I never feel qualified to do what
God is asking me to do, and I rarely have
answers before I take that first step, but the
more I focus on the One calling me off the
dock, the faster fear loses its grip on me.
Considering God’s past faithfulness and
remembering that He is with me wherever
I go gets me off the dock quicker. And when
I remember that He loves me, that He is
bringing provision, that He is more powerful
than every enemy, and that He will
never abandon me—I actually find myself
excited about jumping into the deep.
If you need courage today, ask the Lord
to help you lay aside your fear so that you
can accept Him into your life. He will help
you step out in obedience and let go of the
controls. You’ll be glad you did.
Remember: God does not give you a
spirit of fear. Satan does. Don’t let Satan
keep you from experiencing the love of
God and the goodness of His plans.
Kristi Overton Johnson
Publisher & Executive Director
PHOTO BY JOMARYS LEON-LORENZO
6 Issue 02 / 2022 VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM