This morning I read the scripture in Revelations 2:17 when Jesus said,
"to him who overcomes I'll give to eat that hidden manna and a white stone with a new name written on it which no man knows except him who receives it."
The best definition I've heard recently for overcoming is this:
To overcome is to succeed in dealing with problems and difficulties. God knows that throughout life there are always unexpected problems, challenges, and difficulties to get through. It's not so much whether we will have these things or not but rather how we persevere through them and get the victory reward on the other side. There is a faith that's proved of more worth than gold and we are refined through the process of pain.
I recently enjoyed coffee with a friend who reminded me of that scripture where Jesus said that all things work together for good for those who love God. She mentioned that the problem is most people don't stick around long enough to find out what those good things are on the other side of the trial or challenge.
The thing about "heavenly manna" or bread from heaven is that it's symbolic for life substance. Jesus said He is the bread of life. He wants to give us life that never goes stale and it can happen in a minute. Those desert moments remind us that we are starving for something of real substance and the things that we've counted on in the past or relied upon to fill us up along the way will never truly be able to touch the soul issues that we wrestle with on the deepest levels. But what you get from heaven is going to give you life!
That's what I love about Jesus. He is Emmanuel, God with us. There will never be any guarantee for a smooth ride but you have every guarantee and every promise that God will be with you through it all.
Can you persevere even in weakness, trials, pain? Can you cry out with a desert song of praise?
We have reason to praise our God and I believe in the midst of praise we will abound in the ability to get through every problem and difficulty!
And what about this new name? My initial thought is this. Sometimes our life is marked by pain, disease, disappointment, discouragement. Maybe the new name is something about the new place God will bring you to once you've persevered! That gets me excited.
This is the kind of thing that we should put on our mirror, or by a doorway. When I read something like this when things are going well, and I think, of course, that's true. But, when things get hard, they are very hard concepts to remember for me.
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