Finding Strength in God's Truth When You're Feeling Helpless and Beaten DownUzorak

From Beaten Down to being an Overcomer

2 Timothy 3:12-17 tells us, “...everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

What we learn from this Scripture is that being beaten down and persecuted is normal for those who want to be Godly, and the key to being an overcomer is God’s God-breathed Word. We will overcome if we immerse ourselves in God’s Word daily. We not only read it, but we meditate on it, and we study it. And as we read, we invite the Holy Spirit to open our hearts and minds to what He wants us to learn, and shows us how to put into practice what we have absorbed from His Word.

Romans 8:31-39 is a wonderful promise for all of us who feel beaten down and sometimes overcome by the world’s evil. “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?...” (verse 31)

In John 16:33, Jesus told us to expect trouble in this world, but not to worry because He has already overcome the world, and therefore in Him we can have peace. The answer is always “In Him!”

Trauma permanently changes us, yet we do not have to let it become something that paralyzes us with fear. Healing from trauma can also mean finding new strength and joy. The Master Pruner is closest to His fruit when He is pruning His vine; God will take the hurt and show you how to walk through it as you rest in His healing hands. We don’t want to simply pretend to act like we’re back to normal, but we can be transformed by a close walk with God as we acknowledge and wear our new life – warts, wisdom, and all – with courage. Ephesians 3:20: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us...”

Reflection: As Christians, we will be hated by the world, but Philippians 4:12-13 assures us that we can handle anything thrown at us, through the strength of Jesus Christ;“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength!”