Triumphant – having won a battle or contest; victorious, successful, winning, conquering, all-conquering; more undefeated, unbeaten, feeling or expressing jubilation after having won a victory or mastered a difficulty; exultant, elated, rejoicing, joyful, joyous, delighted, gleeful.
God doesn’t want us to run from, or merely/barely survive, storms. No, He wants us to be triumphant in them. He wants to teach everyone of us how to triumph in storms. That’s amazing.
I want to share something really exciting with you. While I’m still not an expert at it, Jesus is making me into a storm chaser. Really. And, where I used to panic, become frantic, and take on great anxiety and fear when storms appeared, Jesus is beginning to show me how fun storm chasing can be (discerning the spirit behind thoughts, listening to the Holy Spirit about what the real issue is, realizing that when things come to a head, that’s a good thing cause now they can be dealt with in Christ, and Romans 8:28 has a lot to do with it)…
Boy, it just blows me away how Jesus can take our weaknesses and turn them into strengths so we can enjoy and even have fun with them as He teaches us how to have victory over them.
How do I handle enemy darts (storms), those times when an avalanche of fear-bearing thoughts try to take control of my mind, emotions and body? Do I want to run and hide hoping they’ll go away? Do I get stressed out and angry? Or, with Christ’s help, am I learning how to correctly dispel them by taking them captive to the obedience of Christ?
There are over 400 verses in the Bible where God is telling us to fear not because He knows what fear does to us and desires for us to be free from any and all fear.
Be still, and know that I am God – It’s so important to still yourself at the first sign of a storm. It gives you an opportunity to gain God’s perspective of things.
Psalm 46:10a
Dr. Neil Anderson – Fear is never the right way to respond to satan’s attacks.
Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn – The Apostle Paul was victorious not because he avoided trials and tribulation (storms), but because he triumphed in them.
Trials (Storms like the one in the Bible when Jesus calmed the storm with the disciples in the boat) are not meant for defeat, but for triumph! This side of the fall, satan has taught man to fear trials and tribulations, times of trauma and seeming despair. But, in Jesus, when we handle storms through Jesus, we become storm chasers and that’s why the devil will fight, with all his might, to keep us from becoming storm chasers.
Praise God, everything is turned right-side up in Christ. Trials are triumphs, weakness is strength, anxiety is turned into rest, peace, and trust, sadness and sorrow is turned into joy, etc. Wow, this is so powerful. Death, where is your sting (1 Corinthians 15:55)? With Jesus, even death is turned into the final victory.
But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:57
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
Romans 8:37
Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour (and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere) of his knowledge by us in every place.
2 Corinthians 2:14
The whole world is trying to avoid storms at all costs and attempting to relieve themselves, even if for a moment, through drugs, entertainment, drinking, etc…and, sadly, many Christians are doing the same. Anxiety is the number one mental health disorder in the world.
More than conquerors…That’s when we have the most fun in Jesus.
Keep seeking Jesus with your whole heart and become a storm chaser. He’ll teach us how to calm every storm.
God bless,
Mark