Overcoming

The apostle Paul, in 1st Corinthians 15, explores the nature of the victory that Jesus Christ has won for us. He writes:
55 "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?"
56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

The message was clear and the context was unique.  The words could have come out of a Sunday sermon.  A man related this from a stage:

"This world surrounds us with a message that we’ll never be good enough, we’ll never be strong enough, we’ll never be beautiful enough, we’ll never be rich enough. Whatever the case may be. Certainly that we'll never win. Social media surrounds us with those messages all the time. It’s driven down our throats every day, that we’ll never be good enough and that nobody really, really loves us..."

But, according to a FoxNews.com story, originally published by PennLive, those words, documented by YouTube, were followed by this:

"You are loved. You are enough, and you will win. Not only can you win, but you will win. You’ll always be enough for one reason. And that’s because Jesus Christ loves you," he told the crowd.

He added, "Jesus Christ loves you so much that he made you just the way you are, just the way you’re standing there right now."  Then, he said, "He also loves you to let you know that you're not complete...I promise you there’s more, and you will win."

The speaker was Brad Arnold, lead singer of a band called 3 Doors Down. The setting was a concert in Hershey, PA. According to the story, "Some fans cheered and applauded the singer's message."

The Fox article also noted:

"I failed all day today. You failed today. But you’re still the one that Jesus loves," Arnold said before leading the large crowd in a chant of, "I am the one that Jesus loves."

It also said: 

According to CBN, this isn't the first time Arnold has been open about his faith on stage.

He is also outspoken about his beliefs on social media, where he sometimes reposts Bible verses.

Apparently, Brad credits his faith in God with his overcoming alcohol addiction, which may provide some context to his use of the word "win" in his concert comments.  According to The Christian Post,

“January 19 is a special day for me every year,” he wrote on Instagram.

“It marks the start of a new year of a new life, a life without a bottle in my hand. I feel like a different person than I did eight years ago ... and it feels so good. Without question, God took that burden from me. I was so tired of carrying it. I couldn’t carry it any more so I gave it to God and I’m not taking it back! If you’re struggling with something, give it to Him. He’ll gladly take your burden and you’ll never have to carry it again.”

Let's talk about winning - that seemed to be a theme in Brad Arnold's comments on stage the other night in Pennsylvania.  We have to be careful not to characterize the Lord as some ticket to earthly success.  And, while God loves everyone and sent His Son to die for them, once Jesus comes into a person's life, He calls us to surrender to Him and be His disciple, not to remain the way we are.  So, while Arnold is to be commended for His bold declaration, some elaboration, I believe, is called for. 

The point I think he was trying to make is that, in the spiritual sense, we are overcomers in Jesus Christ - Brad Arnold has seen that in his own life in making a break from alcohol.  When we are up against a challenge, we can trust the Lord to walk with us - He doesn't always take away the circumstances, but we can know His ultimate purpose is being fulfilled.  It is absolutely true, we have victory in Jesus Christ: the victory He has won over sin and death has been passed on to us, and we can stand strong in the Lord - in the Lord, when we face adversity.  In our own strength, we are never "enough" - a word that has gained quite a bit of usage in the Christian sphere these days.  But, Jesus is more than enough to meet the needs of our hearts and to empower us to overcome the lies of the enemy.