Mar 5, 2026 – Overcome
Utmost – Acts 20:24 – “…so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus.” Chambers explains, that, “Joy means the perfect fulfilment of that for which I was created and regenerated, not the successful doing of a thing.” That’s a bit of a relief, really, if I’m understanding it correctly. We do what we are called to do (perhaps like being a mother), but we aren’t condemned if we don’t carry it out perfectly well. Many parents, after launching their kids, have so many (hopefully needless) regrets as they look back at all the things they meant to do or think they should have done, but the time flew by so fast (even though it seemed to stretch out forever at times) that much was seemingly missed. I meant to put pencils with my children’s names engraved on them in their Christmas stockings each year (like my mother did), but I never remembered to order them in time. If that was the worst miss, I could rest easy.
Chambers dives deeper and asks, “Have I received a ministry from the Lord? If so, I have to be loyal to it, to count my life precious only for the fulfilling of that ministry…. We have all to find our niche in life, and spiritually we find it when we receive our ministry from the Lord. In order to do this we must have companied with Jesus; we must know Him as more than a personal Saviour…. This does not imply that there is a campaign of service marked out for you, but it does mean that you will have to ignore the demands for service along other lines.”
Power – I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead… Philippians 3:13. This makes me think of our study of Ruth this morning in my small group from the book 12 Daring Women of the Bible. In order to press on in the journey with Naomi to Naomi’s homeland, Ruth had to rise above the distractions that tempted her to stay in her own homeland. Among the many helpful lessons we learned, one especially important point was that the difficult decisions we make along the paths of our lives, which often don’t make sense to others and even to ourselves at times, are more often than not worth the effort.
Joyce points out that “Paul knew the one thing that would help him more than anything was to forget the past. How do we forget what lies behind us? …We stop thinking and talking about them…. Stop living in the past mentally and emotionally, and believe by faith that good things are ahead…. don’t waste time in regret…. we can recover and still enjoy an amazing life through Christ.”
Prevail #64 – The enemy is full of tactics to distract us from what God has for us. Larson points out that Satan does to us what Goliath did toward the Israelites, “First he baits you into battle, and then he diminishes your status by calling you names…. But look at young David. It didn’t even occur to him to take things personally…. Because David saw the bigger picture, he asked a faith-filled question: Who is this Philistine that dares to defy the armies of the living God? [1 Samuel 17:26] … Stay in step with the Holy Spirit…. And call on your giant-killer of a God to fight powerfully through you.”
Max asks, “ever had anyone stand up for you? The answer is yes. Jesus stands at this very moment, offering intercession on your behalf…. He promises to pray and stand up for you.” See Luke 22:32.
Simpson writes today from John 16:33 as he reminds us that, “Christ has overcome for us every one of our four terrible foes – Sin, Sickness, Sorrow, Satan…. And now we have but to claim His full atonement and assert our victory….”
JA adds to the comforting reminders, “I AM TAKING CARE OF YOU…. When circumstances are confusing and you don’t know which way to proceed, remember that you are in My watchcare. I know everything about you and your situation. I also know the future….. My resources are absolutely unlimited! So bring Me all your needs and concerns…. Relax and rejoice, for I am taking good care of you.”
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. – 1 Peter 5:7
