Overcome

I was reading a post from the Velvet Ashes website today and was struck with some major truth. What does it mean to overcome? In the dictionary it is defined as succeeding in dealing with a problem or difficulty, being victorious over opposing forces, or being overwhelmed. American culture tends to view it as victory, staying power, undefeated, conquer, persevere, outlast, excel, not give in, and winner. The opposite means giving up, quitting, not willing to stick-it-out, and a sense of loss. But what does God mean when He talks about overcoming? Scriptures on overcoming focus on God, NOT us. What God has done for us, NOT what we can do. At MTI training this summer we learned about the paradox of life. For every one side, there is another. They are contradictory but true all at the same time. Kind of bittersweet. Velvet Ashes brings up an interesting idea of overcoming being a paradox of our faith. Because I don't think I could word it any better the following is part of the post from Velvet Ashes:

"What if one of the invitations of the word overcome is  o "come over" to God's idea of overcoming? What if we wean ourselves from how our home cultures see overcoming and slow ourselves down enough to ask God what it means to be an overcomer? I understand why we are drawn to unintended formulas like "Overcoming equals ____." Fairly predictable answers help to create a sense of control and safety.
Overcoming equals staying on the field.
Overcoming equals not taking medication and praying more.
Overcoming equals going to the field under-supported, trusting that God will provide.
Failure equals leaving.
Failure equals getting medical help.
Failure equals waiting.
God is inviting me to see that overcoming is moving beyond formulas and into an intimacy with Him where the answer will vary. Maybe for you, overcoming in a situation does mean you stay on the field. Maybe for a teammate it means they return to their country of origin. As long as we wed the idea of overcoming to an outcome, we are missing out on the wild fullness (and at times maddeningly unpredictableness) of God.
What if instead of talking of staying or going, success or failure, victory or defeat, we ask:
What is God's invitation to you in this?
What are you learning about God in this?
Where is God growing you?
Ah, now that might truly make us overcomers."

Wow. Great reminder that overcoming is not about me and what I can do, but all about God and what He has already done. A sense of failure invades my mind so often, but if I change the way I view what it means to overcome, the way I view failing will change as well. I need to constantly remind myself to set aside my mindset of succeeding or failing and focus on what God is doing in and through me in the process. We are more than conquerors through Christ.