by David W Cowan
How many times have you heard someone claim to be "overcome" by an emotion or feeling? What has overcome you at points in your life...grief, fear, worry, shame, guilt?
We are called to be overcome by one thing and that is the love of Christ, by which He has overcome the world. Jesus explains to His disciples in John 16, verse 33.
"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world."
The tribulation we face, lest we stay close to our Lord and Savior, can drag us down, can be overpowering unless we stay in the peace of Christ. Peter warns us about this very situation in 2 Peter 2:19.
"...for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved."
Many times at funerals I have heard it said, "I am overcome with grief" Believers who slip have been known to say "I am overcome with guilt and shame."
A momentary emotion is not a bad thing. It shows we care and love. It goes to far when we allow it to overcome our ability to move on down the path God has set for us.
We have to remember that we are a new creation in Christ Jesus and he has overcome ALL the world and its sinful emotions with His love for us and His covering for our sins past, present and even future. We are, however, to be sorrowful and repentant when we realize we have not lived up to God's expectations, to turn from our sin and move on, but Christ has already overcome what we are facing and we rest in His work and we move down the road to sanctification and eventually His perfection.
Thank you, Jesus!
