To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna…
— Revelation 2:17
Right now you may feel that insurmountable odds are arrayed against you. However, let me assure you that you are not the first person to feel this way. If you stay in faith and refuse to budge, it’s only a matter of time until you will outlast the attacks of your enemy, the devil. This is God’s promise to you as a believer! Furthermore, if you are steadfastly committed to overcome, Christ promises special supernatural nourishment for the battle. That’s what I want to talk to you about today — supernatural nourishment for those who are overcomers!
This subject is so rich that it will take two Sparkling Gems for me to cover it fully, so stay with me today and tomorrow on this topic. Believe me, if you need strength in the midst of the fight of faith — whether it is spiritual, physical, mental, or emotional — God has supernatural nourishment that He will provide you. All He requires is that you draw near to His table to feed on the supernatural sustenance He longs to give you.
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There is no better way for me to begin this subject than to go right to the words of Christ in Revelation 2:17. In that verse, Jesus addressed believers who were facing many obstacles that they needed to overcome — including unsaved relatives, friends, associates, and coworkers who didn’t understand their new faith and who antagonized them for being different. He was very aware of the extreme difficulties they were facing — just as He is aware of the challenges faced by every believer in every age, including your own. To each believer who stands fast in the faith and refuses to give up, Jesus promises, “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna…”
Today I want us to look at what it means to “overcome.” The word “overcometh” comes from the Greek word nikao. It refers to a victor, a champion, or one who possesses some type of superiority, and it can be translated to conquer, to defeat, to master, to overcome, to overwhelm, to surpass, or to be victorious. This word was often used in Greek literature to portray athletes who had mastered their sport and ultimately reigned supreme as champions in the games. It could also describe a military victory of one foe against the other.
The word nikao denotes a complete victory over the opposition that Christians were facing on all fronts. By using this word, Jesus was calling upon those early believers to rise up like a mighty spiritual army to defeat the enemies that threatened them on every side.
Today Jesus is calling you to rise up like a mighty warrior as well! And He isn’t just calling you to do it — He provides the strength you need to do it phenomenally.
Winning the victory in a battle requires the greatest level of commitment and determination. This is true in natural war, and it is true in the spiritual realm. In order to receive an overcomer’s reward, the early believers whom Jesus addressed in Revelation 2:17 had to pay the price to overcome.
It is also important to note that the tense of the Greek word translated “overcometh” in this verse speaks of a continuous action. It isn’t acceptable to win a single battle but then lose the war because of a slack, unguarded attitude. Christ was calling on believers to continuously remain victorious. He was admonishing them, as He does each of His children up to the present day, to be permanently and consistently undeterred in their efforts to overcome and to obtain a lasting victory over sin in their lives.
Jesus still calls on us all to be overcomers. This is imperative for us to understand. It is to be our continual and unrelenting goal to maintain our victorious stance in every possible sphere of life as long as we are on this earth. And for us who are in the process of overcoming — when it seems that we’ve given all we have and that no more strength remains — Christ promises to nourish us with “manna.”
To understand the special significance of this imagery, it is necessary to recall what is known about manna from the Old Testament. That is what we will look at in tomorrow’s Sparkling Gem. Today I want to ask you: What obstacles are you facing right now that Christ is urging you to overcome? Is it a personal challenge that no one knows about but the Lord? Is it a family matter, job problem, financial difficulty, health issue, or relational issue? Is it something you are fighting in your mind? Or are you in the process of overcoming a sin or habit that has encumbered your life for a long time?
Regardless of the obstacle that challenges you, turn to Jesus Christ! He overcame everything in life, and He understands every fight and foe you face. By His Spirit, He will empower you to stand strong until the fight is won. Not only that, He will give you the fortitude to maintain the victory once it has been achieved. He’s not interested in you merely winning a skirmish; He wants you to win the final victory and maintain that victory once it is achieved. And as you will see in tomorrow’s Sparkling Gem, if you’ll make the decision to overcome, He’ll provide supernatural nourishment to keep you strong all along the way!
MY PRAYER FOR TODAY
Father, You are calling me to live in overwhelming victory. Through You, I can be a conqueror who gains the mastery over all opposition. Forgive me for the times I focused more on the struggle opposing me than on the victory You have already won for me. I am a victor, not a victim. I realize that You want me to see myself as a victor, a champion, one who has completely defeated my enemies. You have made provision for me to continuously maintain that victory in my life through the Holy Spirit. I make an intentional decision to draw upon Your power in me. I’m willing and ready to jump in the fight and finish it to the end in the strength of Your might!
I pray this in Jesus’ name!
MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY
I confess that Christ calls me to overcome, and He gives me the power to do it. He would not ask me to do something I cannot do. But I can overcome only through the mighty power of the Holy Spirit, so I declare that I yield to the Person of the Holy Spirit who indwells me. I am a willing vessel for the Holy Spirit to release His supernatural power through me. He causes me to rise above my difficulties. His power enables me to put my foot on the enemy’s neck and command him to back down. The enemies I face hear my voice of authority and see my commitment — and as a result, they back off from their attack, because greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world!
I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!
QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER
- What immediately comes to mind as the big issue you are trying to overcome in your life right now? Is there an area in your life you’ve identified as an issue you need to focus on? Now that you’ve identified that issue, what specifically are you going to do about it?
- What issues that used to hamper your life have you already overcome? I’m talking serious issues from the past that are no longer a concern to you today. Don’t forget those victories! They will encourage you as you focus your faith on overcoming the current obstacles you’re facing.
- Is there any area of your life in which you gained victory but let it slip away from you over a period of time? What are you going to do to retake that area of your life and then sustain that victory from this time forward?
