Jesus calls us to be overcomers, but have you ever stopped to consider what it means to overcome? It's easy to understand when face to face with the "day of evil" Ephesians 6:13 describes, but what are we overcoming in the mean time?
To overcome is to gain victory over an opposition, but what's on the otherside? What purpose are you overcoming for? You need a goal to work toward before you can identify what resistence looks like. We've all been given the same goal to work towards in Christ, live as though He's going to return at any moment, 1 Thessalonians 5. But God's word reveals a powerful truth if we fail to plan for it!
Ecclesiastes 1:9
"The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun."
Without orienting our work towards the future, the present will always look like the past... Many powerful verses give us insight into this truth, Proverbs 29:18 "Where there is no vision, the people perish..." This is exactly why Jesus told us He was returning, to give us a future goal to work towards, and it's in this goal that we can identify resistence, obsticals and fulfillment!
If you knew Jesus was returning next month, or next year, you'd probably orient your life goals a bit differently right? More like Jesus and less like Judas, but don't jump on ship before the captain's call! As much as we need to be like-Christ for His return, we need to understand that it's not possible by our own strength, we need the Holy Spirit!
Jesus was completly submitted and surrendered to the Holy Spirit and answered all of His promptings. The Holy Spirit knows all things, and He knows what YOU need. He is the only one that has the power to get you to live out the convictions and commitments He's putting on your heart. So give Him a place in your day, deticate time to Him, give Him your focus when you talk to Him, give Him your mouth when you speak to others.
No matter where you are in your walk, you can always be more Spirit-led! So work towards it, start your day with that end in mind. Make a commitment to what He's already putting on your heart to do, then work towards it with all your heart, love, and soul! Don't know where to start? Start with that the Word calls us to do, invest consistant time in the secret place of prayer (Matthew 6), selflessly serve others as Christ does for us (Matthew 20:28), and discover the calling of a disciple through God's word! Make a real strategy to get to know Him, maybe its deticating half a lunch break, or getting up earlier to seek Him, no matter the "cost", it will always be worth the investment!
"Be holy as He is holy" is a daily purpose, it's a daily assignment, and a daily battle to fight. Let the return of Jesus be your daily motivation drawing you into His presence!
Matthew 24:43-46 "43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. 45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing."