Victory

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

VICTORY

Prov 24:5-6

5 A wise man has great power, and a man of knowledge increases strength; 6 for waging war you need guidance, and for victory many advisers.

NIV

Again this seems to speak to the here and now, the present in the physical life of a person who is in a position of waging war, such as a king or president, someone with great power. But could there be something else here? What constitutes being wise? What kind of power is being spoken of? What kind of knowledge increases strength? What type of strength is increased? What type of war is waged and what kind of guidance is needed? To obtain the victory, who are the advisers that should be listened to? Our first thought is that we have victory in Jesus.

O victory in Jesus, My Savior, forever. He sought me and bought me with his redeeming blood; He loved me ere I knew him and all my love is due him, He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood.

There is power in the blood of Jesus. He also said that he would send the Holy Spirit who brings power from on high.

Luke 24:49

49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." 

NIV

When we receive the Holy Spirit we also have this power from on high, and how greater can be any power then from on high? A wise person would be one who accepts the cleansing blood of Jesus, and has the power of the Spirit working in their life. The knowledge we seek is about God, about his person, his attributes, and his character and of course his will for our life. As we increase in this knowledge about God our faith is increased, it becomes stronger and stronger. We have the faith needed to wage that war against the enemy of our soul, the devil. But we need the guidance of the Spirit in this battle, this war. This war could also be seen as the war that wages within. Just as the Apostle Paul said, there are things we do not want to do, that we do, and things we want to do, that we do not do. But the Spirit can give us guidance. We can have the victory, especially over death because we listen to the advisers, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. What other advisers are worth listening to? So let us be that person of great power, that wise person who increases in strength because of our knowledge of God. We have nothing to fear in this war. Satan may have declared war on us, but he will lose, because Christ has already defeated him and we are in Christ.