SHIFTING FROM A PERCEPTION OF VICTIMHOOD

REFRAME THE NARRATIVE

Don’t play the victim mentality for sympathy. It will either keep you retrogressively in life or in cycles of stagnation. Instead, take stock. Examine your past challenges as opportunities for growth, and move completely from a victim mentality to building your own authority, identity, and independence through faith in Christ Jesus.

[Psalm 34:15]“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” This verse is a promise that God is near, not so far away, during times of deep sorrow, grief, and emotional pain. The verse offers comfort, assurance, and divine intervention for those struggling with hopelessness – victimhood per se in this subject.

Beloved, here is the encouragement for us. To defeat such narratives, I will entreat you to refrain from your inward-looking shadow and light up your God-created image in your personality.

So how do you do that, you may ask? Start reframing your personal narrative through the lens of the scripture, and shifting from a perspective of victimhood to one of divine purpose. View life’s challenges as part of a larger story that was written by only our Lord God, but not man. Once you are in recognition of this Biblical ethos, lay the victimization narrative under the foot of the cross for Christ.

To strengthen your mindset, you will have to align yourself with the divine spirit of the Lord by renewing your mind, as Romans 12:2 states: You need to ‘Trust in the Lord as the author of your life,’ and find hope in his promises that will transform your pain into God’s purpose for your life. You certainly will achieve a great makeover of your life if you trust in the Lord with confidence, faith and hope in him.

Looking at Proverbs 3:5-6, we realize that it is the primary Scripture verse for encouragement, highlighting God’s plan over human reason for trusting God’s direction over our life: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths”. If we submit to God’s plan over our own understanding, our narratives will change the narrators’ stories through prayers and our faith in Christ.

Believers, if the Lord has broken the barrier of victimhood, you should accept and acknowledge past experiences as lessons, and don’t let them hold you imprisoned. You can never move forward to empower yourself for any success, spiritually and in any facet of life, be it business or social, by holding on to the past or past pain.

See, the devil would want you not to move on to renew your mind to narrate your positive story. The devil is well aware that spot is difficult to let go – it is the “spirit of unforgiving.” But you have the power through Christ Jesus to overcome it, and that power tool is only through fervent prayer by aligning it with the divine power of the Living God.

So with prayer and perseverance, you will change your outward and inner expression to match God’s created personality, asking the Lord to guard and direct your mind. Pray that you can discern and identify the source of self-focused and self-defeating thoughts to replace your negatives or self-defeating mindset, and always trust the Lord that your declarations are recognized, so you can rest in peace with a renewed mind.

As a Christian, you have to act to align yourself with the Lord to embrace the present, not the past, as it is clearly stated above. The Lord’s presence in your life will help you to make choices that lead to desired outcomes. Your present is your focal point toward your future success, not your past realities – discern deeper in the spirit and take greater control over decisions and actions that will empower you to success in God’s glory.

Beloved, I wish you therefore to take note of Ephesians 1:11 that, “God works all things after the counsel of his will.” Consequently, trust in the Lord with faith and hope, and shift from a victim mindset to a survivor mindset; focus on your strengths and the opportunities ahead rather than deficits or the past.

This means that your life, all of it, has been worked out according to the counsel of God’s will, and as long as our confidence, our faith, and hope are in him, the mentality of victimhood will never have a place in God’s people. Keep the Faith and Hope alive.

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ABIDE IN THE VINE WITH FAITH

Abiding in the Lord means having FAITH in him.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” [John 15:4- 5]ESV

To simply state it: Abiding in the Lord means having FAITH in him and depending on him alone. When you depend on the Lord, you believe in him, you have confidence and trust in him, and accordingly, your faith and hope are in him. With that in mind, you have to act and operate within these parameters for your going out and your coming in, but not idling.

So, the question is – are you struggling to see fruit in your life? Are you questioning yourself why? How is your confidence, trust and dependency in the Lord according to John 15:4-5 above? Are you sitting idle without taking the physical steps to bring your faith into reality? Take the step of faith, walk the talk, do the talk; the Lord goes before you always if you abide. You will get the result if you act.

Whatever it is, I encourage you to prayerfully ask the Lord to reveal the type of fruit in your life as a Christian. If you know you have not yet put your faith fully in Christ, then you must commence now. The Lord God wants a relationship with his children, and you can begin your relationship with him immediately. And remember, you cannot abide by the orange stem if you want to bear mango fruits.

The more we know Jesus, the more we love the Word, and the more we allow it into our spirit, the more our FAITH grow, and so the stronger we are firmly attached to the vine.

Faith in Christ in Christianity is everything. “It is an active trust and reliance on God and Jesus Christ, going beyond sheer intellectual belief to a confident commitment that shapes one’s life and actions.” It is rooted in God’s revealed character and promises for mankind.

In simple terms: It’s not just knowing God is good; it’s living like God is good and trustworthy, even when circumstances are hard, because you believe his promises are true.

Abide in him with trust. Your security is assured in Christ if your faith level is as little as a mustard seed. The verse below is an example of faithful levels that we can consistently build. The bigger our faith level, the greater we can move mountains, but not a mountain. In the Book of Matthew, chapter seventeen, Jesus taught and encouraged his disciples about the levels of faith using the mustard seed. This tells us that the greater our faith, the greater the result.

Jesus said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20 [ESV]

The faith of the child of God is the most powerful and “most potent of all securities” as a Christian, so the faith you have determines the kind of Christian you are and your confidence level. You’ve all the help and protection you need, so do not fear, be aware of what you have and use them by abiding in the Lord confidently and trusting in him.

If you trust the Lord and have confidence and faith in him, abide in him and bear fruit. And here is the thing: there shall not be any vulnerability, you shall be fully covered, and the Lord will offer a shelter no storm can violate.
“He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.” [Psalm 91:4]

Faithful ones, your faith is held securely by the Lord Jesus, the Alpha and Omega. Thank Him for His strength and his example. Keep your eyes fixed on Him, especially in hard times. He is the only one to turn to abide with confidence, trust, faith and hope in him.

Once we abide in the Lord, he bears fruit in our lives. This glorifies him and blesses us and those around us. The threats of the day can never touch us. The fears of all the chaos around us cannot come any closer. So you and I can dwell under his wings as we abide by the vine. He will watch over us day and night.

Father, today I am committing my Faith unto you for whatever I do because I have every trust and confidence in you. So may you set me up in the plans you have for me and establish the work of my hands and my life as I abide in you. So Lord, I declare Proverbs 16:3, and Psalm 90:17 for every blessed day of my being. Beloved, keep your Faith and Hope alive in Christ.
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