We Will Overcome

As I shared previously in a post, the series we’ve been going through recently at church has been entitled “Why Me, Lord?”. A cry out to the moments when we feel anger, despair, grief, etc. towards God. When we harness the fear of the situation, the general lack of fairness that life can bestow upon us, and lament to our Father out of these emotions. Especially when the “what if’s?” turn into “why me?”. Fear of what’s happened. Of what’s to come. Fear of the unknown. But thankfully, as I was reminded by a sweet Emily, “God is so much greater than our fears.” And I am forever grateful for that.

It’s been almost a year now since one such event rocked our world and caused such lamentations. Moments where I cried out to the Lord, not out of anger, but out of fear. Wanting answers and racing through the worst possible “what if’s” that there could be. Terrified of what may come, and not fully understanding the purpose of His much greater plan. It was about this time last year that the husband had a terrible cold that I inevitably caught. My throat began to hurt and after a massage for my aching back one evening, we were jolted by the unwelcomed presence of pain and a large lump protruding from my throat. Thinking it was merely inflamed lymph nodes from the cold, I skipped the doctor’s visit until it hadn’t subsided after a week. After a string of visits we found out that it was not my lymph nodes at all, but that the lump was actually a tumor in my thyroid…
Even now it seems so surreal to say that word referring to my own body. There was a tumor. In my body. To say we were scared was an understatement. At 26, I had already experienced two friends from college passing from brain tumors, and now here I stood with that very same word assigned to one of my own body parts. I was terrified, confused, and speechless. It was an emotionally, physically, and spiritually taxing season in our lives, but ultimately His plan is sovereign and He is bigger than our limited understanding of rationale. Through Him, we can overcome. In this case, we overcame the tumor.  You can read about the details surrounding the surgery and recovery here. There’s not a day that went by that I didn’t question why or how this had come to be and I still don’t have complete answers to those questions. I may never in this lifetime. But despite my confusion, despite my pain, never once did I feel as though He left me. Never once did my fear outweigh His providence.  In this, and every, victory, the praise belongs to the Lord.

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We sang this song during worship this past Sunday and it’s kept cropping up already this week a number of times. Such a powerful reminder that in every situation, He is worthy of all of the honor and praise. That Jesus overcame.  Jeremy Camp has a particularly powerful version; you should listen to it.

Seated above, enthroned in the Father’s loveDestined to die, poured out for all mankindGod’s only son perfect and spotless oneHe never sinned, but suffered as if he did 

All authority, every victory is YoursAll authority, every victory is Yours 

Savior, worthy of honor and glory, worthy of all our praise, You overcameJesus, awesome in power forever, awesome and great is Your name, You overcame 

Power in hand speaking the Father’s planYou’re sending us out, light in this broken land 

Savior, worthy of honor and glory, worthy of all our praise, You overcameJesus, awesome in power forever, awesome and great is Your name, You overcame 

We will overcome by the blood of the LambAnd the word of our testimony, everyone overcome

It never ceases to amaze me how perfectly lyrics can be crafted to mirror the words I could but wish to articulate.  As we prepare for this season of lent, I pray that this is our heart. That we would look expectantly to Him as the Creator and Sustainer of our lives, desiring to use our feeble attempts at this life to show Him love and direct all of the glory to His name. That we would seek His plan, knowing that He has such goodness in store for us if we would but trust Him. That even in the “why?’s” and the “what if’s?” that He holds us in the palm of His hand, cradling us in His arms, assuring us that He is sovereign. That our testimony – our story of how He has moved in our lives, no matter what it may be – can not only bring glory to His name, but can guide another to His strong embrace. That He can, and did, overcome.