Victim or Victory?
“No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”
Romans 8:37
Shortly after I became paralyzed, I overheard one doctor say to another, “She’s the victim of a diving accident.” After that, I thought, Exactly. I’m a victim. I’ve been cheated out of life on my feet! I wanted to believe that I got the bad end of a raw deal. God had rolled the cosmic dice and I came out losing.
Never mind the truth that I had made a dive that was totally foolish (I attempted an inward pike dive off a raft into water whose depth was uncertain). I felt victimized and miserable, and I made sure everyone else around me felt my misery. I wanted them to participate in my pain and help pay for something that was my own fault.
Self-pity ruled me. But after my first year in my wheelchair, I began to tire of the woe-is-me way of living. I turned to the Bible and saw that God’s children are never victims. Nor do we have the right to play the victim. I’m not saying that a person is never a victim of, let’s say, abuse; I’m just saying that Christians never should make self-pity a friend nor subscribe to a victim mentality.
Just think of Jesus. You can’t imagine a more victimized person then an innocent man tortured and crucified. Yet when he was dying, Jesus didn’t play the victim. As he hung there bleeding and suffocating, he kindly forgave the very men who ‘did him in.’ And then, as he breathed his last, he said, “‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:30, NIV). Notice he said, “It is finished,” not “I am finished.”
The Lord did not play the victim, and as a result he emerged the victor. Whatever tragedy, mistake, or mistreatment we’ve endured, through Christ Jesus, victory is ours! He is my example. So, I am far from being a victim! I am “more than a conqueror” (Romans 8:37, NIV).
And the work God has done in me over the last 56 years is only a glimmer of the victory that is ours in heaven.
Lord Jesus, I want to see the truth of my circumstances: through you, I can have victory. I have no room for self-pity when I consider what you accomplished on the cross for me. Thank you for your abounding love and your sufficient grace reserved for me.
God’s Power in Weakness—A Message from Joni Eareckson Tada
Looking back on 55 years in a wheelchair, Joni reflects on the Lord’s faithfulness amid her adversity. She shares how trusting God through hardship has given her strength to not only persevere but live with hope and joy!
