A Passion for Victory: Living Triumphantly Every Day

I saw a man I hadn't seen for at least ten years. "How's your walk with the Lord doing?" I asked. His response was interesting. "Oh, I'm just hobbling along the best I can—some days ahead, some days behind

I saw a man I hadn't seen for at least ten years. "How's your walk with the Lord doing?" I asked. His response was interesting. "Oh, I'm just hobbling along the best I can some days ahead, some days behind but I guess that's all you can expect."

Somewhere along the way, my friend had lost his passion for victory. It's hard to sustain a passion for something you believe is unattainable. Sadly, this depressing testimony is all too common among Christian people today. Only a minority of believers walk in consistent victory one year, five years, or ten years after their conversion to Christ.

Lester sat next to me on a bus of men going to a men's convention. Knowing we had a three-hour drive, I asked him, "How's it going?" His response was quite telling: "Well, Pastor, I'm scoring zero at my job, zero in my marriage, zero in my Christian walk, and zero with my friends." Lester was about twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old and three years into his marriage. Tall, blonde, muscular, and outgoing, you would never guess by looking at him that he was bombing out in his walk with the Lord Lester had lost his passion for victory. So for almost three hours, I shared the basics of this book with him.

Throughout my years in ministry, I've come across countless Christians who struggle in their fellowship with Christ. They live like the first man I mentioned "some days ahead, some days behind."

Perhaps that description even fits you. But by following the principles set forth in this book, you can renew your passion for victory; you can begin anew and it's really not all that difficult! You can live triumphantly every day!

Remember, you have been saved to soar, not sink. You have been converted to conquer, not capitulate. You have been won to win!

The pages of this book reflect some basic principles I know to be true:
1. God wants you to get in and stay in victory.
2. Satan wants you to live in defeat.
3. As a Christian, you can choose whether to walk in victory or defeat.
4. It's easier to drift into defeat than to fight your way into victory and stay there.
5. Living and walking in victory isn't automatic; you have to passionately seize the victory.
6. All the components for consistent victory are available to you if you'll avail yourself of them.
7. Living in defeat day after day curtails your witness and damages your testimony.
8. Living in victory empowers your witness and affects people positively for Christ.
9. Victorious living is not complicated or impossible to attain.
10. Certain God-given principles must be adhered to if you are to walk in victory on a consistent basis.

I remember challenging Lester with the formula in this book. He wrote down the principles and began observing them one by one. He renewed his passion for victory, and today, he is a victorious, excited, on-fire Christian, with a consistency to his walk that he only dreamed of just a few months ago. The same can be true for you.

In the book of Acts, Christianity is referred to as "the Way" (Acts 24:14, 22). That means it's not just a body of cold, mechanical doctrines or statements it's a way of life that's different from the non-Christian's. The over-arching characteristic of the Christian life is that it's victorious and triumphant. It's not a drag; it's not a downer; it's not a hardship. It's a way of life that enables us to emerge victorious and on top.

Living victoriously doesn't mean that we won't get sick, go broke, or experience severe hardship. It doesn't mean that everything will always go the way we think it ought to go. Nor does it mean we'll always have dry eyes and smiles on our faces. It does mean, though, that in the midst of the challenges of life, we will be soldiers who know and walk in the aura of victory. We may lose a few battles, but we will always win the war, because we are more than conquerors through him who loves us. Living victoriously means that we will walk tall, unafraid, unashamed, and undaunted by hardship not in unrealistic denial, but in the truth that we're always victorious in Jesus Christ even if we're bleeding!

This book is a practical guide to help every Christian stay on the victory road. It's not deeply theological, cognitive, or theoretical. It's a practical guide that will assist you in the task of actually experiencing victory.

Many years ago, I attended a black, holiness church in the deep south. I've forgotten the name of the church, the preacher's name, and the topic of the sermon, but I remember the preacher's closing words:

When I walk, I walk in victory; when I sit, I sit in victory; when I drive, I drive in victory; when I sleep, I sleep in victory; when I talk, I talk in victory; when I eat, I eat in victory; when I work, I work in victory; when I pray, I pray in victory; when I preach, I preach in victory. As long as I live, I'll live in victory; and when I die, I'll die in victory. My middle name is victory, 'cause I serve a victorious God!

I call that a passion for victory! If you've been living on Defeat Avenue, welcome to Victory Boulevard.