To Him That Overcometh

To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.’

—Revelation 2:7

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No man may turn his back in the day of battle, or refuse to go to the holy war. We might fight if we would reign, and we must carry on the warfare till we overcome every enemy, or else this promise is not for us, since it is only for ‘him that overcometh.’ We are to overcome the false prophets who have come into the world, and all the evils which accompany their teaching. We are to overcome our own faintness of heart, and tendency to decline from our first love…

If by grace we win the day, as we shall if we truly follow our conquering Leader, then we shall be admitted to the very center of the paradise of God, and shall be permitted to pass by the cherub and his flaming sword, and come to that guarded tree, whereof if a man eat, he shall live forever. We shall thus escape the endless death which is the doom of sin, and gain that everlasting life which is the seal of innocence, the outgrowth of immortal principles of God-like holiness.

Come, my heart, pluck up courage! To flee the conflict will be to lose the joys of the new and better Eden; to fight into victory is to walk with God in Paradise.

—C.H. Spurgeon, ‘Faith’s Checkbook,’ January 20, p. 10

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I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

—John 16:33

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The word ‘overcome,’ beloved—it means ‘to successfully deal with or gain control of something difficult; to subdue.’ (gentle) It’s part of why we’re here, do you know? To learn this most-important lesson? (tender)

His mercy has already overwhelmed us, His Spirit indwelt us—‘tis true—and now, from a place of perfect safety and acceptance and love, we willingly enter into the battle to subdue sin in our lives, do we not? We flee from our own desires to that which He desires. We trust Him to give rather than ourselves to grasp. We wrestle, daily, to please Him in the painful tension we feel here between momentary ‘satisfaction’ and eternal Life and Love and Rest. With His help, we choose Him—moment by aching moment.

O, beloved—if we’re to be admitted into Paradise, we must face this conflict head on. We must take courage and press on until the end, my sweet one. For battles, they do not last forever. One Day, sin will have no place among us; the fight will be over, and we’ll return Home, victorious and perfected—finally. Love will reign supreme Then. And our souls will know only Peace, being incapable of jealousy, lust, self-pity...

We will overcome, beloved—we will. (strong) In Christ, we will successfully gain control of that which is difficult; here, in part, but There, in full. (grateful) We will eat from the tree of life Together, my beautiful one, and all praise, honor, and glory will be His when we do. O beloved, take heart—because He has overcome the world, so too will we! Please rest in this promise, beloved, for it is most assuredly true.

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O Lord, sin here…it feels, at times, like a losing battle. Day by day, moment by moment, we are discouraged by our own weaknesses and tendencies toward sin. We are continually needing to confess, and repent, and cry out once again to You for Your mercy. It feels like the heartache will never end some days. It feels like You will never come, like we are doomed to fail. It’s so very easy to grasp and so very hard to wait, Lord. We ache for tenderness, for understanding, for comfort, for intimacy, for rest. We ache to be One. Surely You know this feeling, yes?

O Lord, please reassure us that Your way is the right way, the only way. Please help us to remember who You are and what You have promised us, Your little children. Help us to submit to You—willingly, gladly, out of love. We desperately want to overcome the sin in ourselves, Father, and we acknowledge we are helpless in that task apart from You. Please take our human nature and transform it more and more into Your nature, that we may be like You, in time—loving and merciful, strong and good. Help us to wait patiently, to honor You in our refusal to grasp. May You be pleased by our meager efforts, somehow, O Great King, and may You welcome us One Day fully into Your presence, and say to us, ‘Well done, my beloveds—well done, indeed.’ May it be so.

Amen.