I Am an Overcomer

I knew training would be hard but  last week was my hardest week so far. Depletion had set in! But I believe that God was teaching me a powerful lesson. Because it is in the times when we are weak that His power and strength can truly be seen.

Monday afternoon after Boot Camp and on my way home from picking up my daughter I was feeling worn down and particularly emotional. Hungry, tired, and completely depleted I questioned my own abilities to see my training through. I thought, how will I make it through these next five weeks. To make matters worse I still had weight training to do for that day. Then I heard these words on the radio by Christian Music Artist Mandisa.

"Overcomer"

Staring at a stop sign
Watching people drive by
T Mac on the radio
Got so much on your mind
Nothing's really going right
Looking for a ray of hope

Whatever it is you may be going through
I know He's not gonna let it get the best of you

You're an overcomer
Stay in the fight ‘til the final round
You're not going under
‘Cause God is holding you right now
You might be down for a moment
Feeling like it's hopeless
That's when He reminds You
That you're an overcomer
You're an overcomer

Everybody's been down
Hit the bottom, hit the ground
Oh, you're not alone
Just take a breath, don't forget
Hang on to His promises
He wants You to know

The same Man, the Great I am
The one who overcame death
Is living inside of You
So just hold tight, fix your eyes
On the one who holds your life
There's nothing He can't do
He's telling You

Maybe you have heard it many times as I had but on this day at this particular time her words hit me like a ton of emotional bricks. As tears streamed down my face I prayed, "God I do not feel like an "OVERCOMER". He whispered, but you are. Look how far you've come. Mandisa repeated these words again...

    You're an overcomer
Stay in the fight ‘til the final round
You're not going under
‘Cause God is holding you right now
You might be down for a moment
Feeling like it's hopeless
That's when He reminds You
That you're an overcomer
You're an overcomer

When I got home I picked up my weights and pushed through my training for the day. I know I did not have the physical and mental strength in me to get through that workout. But it did come, by relying on Gods strength! You see God used my physical and mental depletion to draw me to Himself. I know I serve a powerful God! Too often I do not tap into the power He so freely gives. I focus on mySELF and think I can do it on my own. I don't typically follow celebrities, musicians, etc. but I decided to do a little research on Miss Mandisa and the story behind the moving words of "OVERCOMER". What I found was a more amazing woman than her inspiring song. God has a awesome way of piecing things together because in her recent blog post on October 16, "An Eternal Perspective" , she talks about exactly what God was trying to teach me. In her opening paragraph she states, " If you've been to one of my concerts, you may have heard me talk about followers of Christ having resurrection power. That same power that raised a man from the dead can raise us from [insert impossible situation here]. Jesus said that, “whoever believes in Me will be able to do what I have done, but they will do even greater things…” (John 14:12) I don’t know about you, but there are some situations I am praying for that could really use some supernatural resurrection power!"
She goes on to say that when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, He allowed Lazarus to die first. Death was necessary ingredient for God to be glorified. To see Mandisa's full blog post "An Eternal Perspective"  click this link
http://mandisaofficial.com/home/an-eternal-perspective/.The same is true for me. I must die to mySELF in order for Him to raise me up, to become an overcomer. I am continually amazed by what God has been teaching me and how this journey has transformed my life. Did I completely overcome my struggle through my feeling of depletion? I wish I could say yes. The truth is I felt even worse the next day. But, I continued to push through. And I'll have to say I have a awesome and gracious trainer who takes care of me. She adjusted my training and so far this week my energy is back and I've been feeling good! Will that be the last time I feel depleted, tired, worn down and want to quit? No, I'm sure it won't be. But, less than four weeks left and I am continuing my training " Stay(ing) in the fight ‘til the final round"! Because I Am an Overcomer!I hope that you are encouraged by Gods message! And I pray that whatever fight you might be in that you see yourself as an OVERCOMER too!
Inspired by His Power,
~Melissa