Overcome and Do the Impossible

Faith gives us entry to a dimension known only to God

What if you find yourself unhappy with the way things are going in your household?

Have you ever stopped and thought, “This isn’t what I pictured it would be like when I decided to have kids…”? If that describes you, you can either throw your hands in the air and be relegated to live with the less than pleasant situation OR carry the responsibility to address your life.

Let’s say you get up one morning and realize most of your waking hours are spent putting out fires so you can try to have a moment of peace. Maybe you become aware that the kids spend most of the day bickering - with you hollering after them. Or maybe your problems are even more deep-seated. At that moment, it can feel like bringing any sort of change would be impossible. Overwhelming. Too hard. Perhaps you begin to assume this is what motherhood is supposed to look like and you should just sing, “Que sera sera...whatever will be, will be.” Mothering is hard. If it wasn’t hard, it wouldn’t be so important. It may indeed be frustrating and uncomfortable at times. Yet we are not meant to dwell in the hard stuff. God created families for joy and community, support and blessing. But going through the discomfort is what will bring you to the joy on the other side. Back to our example. You decide you want the kids to stop bickering and you want to stop yelling. Yay! That’s a wonderful goal. You’re excited now at the prospect of peace returning to the home. You can’t stop smiling. Here’s the part where you’re expecting to read the step-by-step plan which I have compiled for you. Ready for the exact formula? Here it is:

Just kidding! There is no formula. WHAT? I know, I know. That was rude. OK, I’ll tell you my experience. It used to look a lot like this: I came up with a plan for changing the bickering and yelling. I implemented the plan, felt very tired, cried, argued with myself that it wasn’t a good plan at all, spent a few days being uncomfortable, threw out the plan, realized yelling was more comfortable, went back to yelling, complained about how rotten my kids were, came up with a new plan, and started the cycle all over again. I spent so much time agonizing over finding the right method or formula to run my family. I read books, went to seminars, and asked questions of anyone who would take the time. It wasn’t until I discovered that the Word of God with the aid of the Holy Spirit is the best method! As Christians, we know that for God, nothing is impossible. He is limitless, while everything else has limits. There is one special exception though. God made it possible for those who believe Him to experience His reality. Matthew 17:20 says, “Nothing is impossible for those who believe.” This belief is called faith. Faith gives us entry to a dimension known only to God. This is an amazing advantage given to those who believe, the children of God. Once I got this concept settled in my heart, I started to truly believe, because of the work of Jesus, I could overcome situations that seemed impossible. I memorized 1 John 5:4 which says, “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith.” And verse 5 carries on, “Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” These verses aren’t indicating we need to literally take over the world (cue Pinky and the Brain theme song…), or is it? The word “world” in that scripture, originally written in Greek, is the word kosmos, which is, of course, where we get our English word “cosmos”, meaning our universe. As moms, we probably aren’t called to world domination, but we are called to conquer any worldly problem or obstacle that entangles us. If Jesus thinks we can handle overcoming the cosmos, who are we to argue with Him? If it’s true that we are capable of overcoming any issue that trips us up, why don’t we? The problem is in our mind. The first mind game we play with ourselves is one regarding our value or worth. You are incredibly valuable simply because you were created by God. Motherhood is designated to you upon the birth of your child, not because the child has asked you to be their mother. With that position comes certain responsibilities, and authority, even if you feel inadequate. Your thoughts about your feelings are not accurate because all your brain wants to do is find comfort. Rising above your feelings of unworthiness, rising above seeking comfort is the only way to act in your child’s best interest. Your mind will literally trick you into not doing what’s best for your child because you start to think you’re not good enough! That is a lie from the enemy. This is an area where you can overcome! The second mind game we play is in regards to being offended. We let our kids offend us. We try to implement the new plan and the kid says, “It’s your fault things are like this anyway,” or “You never let me have any fun!” If you let your feelings get hurt, you will not be able to overcome the situation and discipline the child properly for the back talk as well as for the original issue that spurred the implementation of a plan. We let others offend us too. Our husband, our mother-in-law, friends and so on. It’s not them hurting you - it’s you thinking thoughts about what they say. Take ownership of your thoughts and develop authority over your life. Then you can create the peace and joy you want in your home. Revelation 3:5 says “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life.” Later, in verse 21, it says “The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.” These scriptures are encouraging us to be faithful and obedient in our calling. As God’s children, we are already overcomers. Just about any plan you put into action will be helpful to some degree, but the greatest impact on your home and life will come when you change your mind. Become an overcomer, Mama! Battling and overcoming the negative thoughts about your value and offense will grow your faith and bring you into the realm where God dwells, where nothing is impossible.