Victorious Living

     And we know that God causes everything to work together
     for the good of those who love God and are called
     according to his purpose for them.
                                                                                      Romans 8:28
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the busyness and responsibilities of daily life.  We were raised to prioritize things in our life as our parents and those people we interacted with the most did.  We naturally assume their perspective of life should be ours.

But what happens when we take time to stop and ask God how he sees our life and the priorities we have placed on what we do and see?  Where do we even start?  Well, the Bible is a good place to start.  Becoming familiar with what the Word of God says, we soon recognize that it views life from the eternal perspective, and what matters to God, not the temporal viewpoint.

We discover that God is all about love, and prioritizes our loving God and loving people.  The overarching theme in the Bible is learning to trust God, not ourselves, for the truth, for the strength and for the motivation that propels us along in life.  It becomes clear that Father God values us.  We are made in his image.  He gave his only Son to rescue us and to become a model for us on how to live.  It may surprise us that he loves us so much, despite knowing what we have done or even think. 

When we accept that God loves us so much, so faithfully, overwhelmingly, and eternally, no matter the circumstances we are in, it makes it easier to accept our purpose for living.  Above the other reasons, we are called to know God and make him known to others.  We learn to entrust our lives to God, the Holy Spirit, who lives in us, works in us and through us, to accomplish what we are called to do.
 
If we accept that we are created to love and to be loved, living is simplified.  Since we are created to know God and grow in trusting him in everything, our perspective gradually changes into a heavenly one.  Sitting at the feet of Jesus in Heaven, our problems take on a different meaning and importance.  We start each day trusting God with the details and choosing to be open to opportunities to love him and others.  We give the heavy lifting to the Lord and trust we will see his fingerprints in everything we do.  And rest in Christ!

 Dear friends, be richly blessed as you choose to simplify your life by taking on God’s perspective.  May you learn to trust the Lord and choose to love him with all your heart, mind and strength and to love others as yourself.  May the Lord be glorified in whatever you do in love. Let’s rejoice and rest in our life in Christ!

Mary Sumner ~October 7, 2025