Are you a victim or a survivor?

[Sis Santos]

I am a survivor! And by the Word of God, I am more than an overcomer! So many promises to them that overcome...

[Sis Santos]

On a side note; I thank God that there are so many promises to them that overcome, not to those that always have it all together.

[ChTatum]

By choice, I am a survivor.

[Scott Hutchinson]

I am a survivor I don't need bitterness in my spirit.

[Malvaro]

you know why this thread should be encouraging to everyone? because it shows that many, many people have been hurt.... but have chosen to be survivors, overcomers and conquerors!!! Ultimately, its a choice of attitude and mind-set....

[TalkLady]

I AM A SURVIVOR!!!
Someone has said that the one question that really matters is:

"Why do bad things happen to 'good' people?" (And I'm certainly not saying that I am a "good person")

Every discussion about "God and religion" eventually either starts with this question or comes around to it sooner or later.

...At one level when "bad things" happen to those we think deserve it, then God is a righteous judge who gives "them" exactly what they deserve.........BUT what about when troubles beat on our door, when they push the door down and invade our minds and our homes? What then? When we think we've done what we were supposed to do - when we've obeyed all the rules and the scoreboard doesn't match what we think it should be. When others win and we lose.

Man depends on God for everything but one thing that God wants from Man more than anything is LOVE. Why did God create Adam and Eve and allow us humans to exist through the ages?...More than anything else I believe that He's wanting us to LOVE Him...to SURVIVE...to get up and brush ourselves off and look to Him in the midst of the fiery trials that cause us so much pain but in the end give us so much strength.

To be a victim and stay a victim is like the clay saying to the potter: "WHY did you make me so?"...and the next day for the clay to say, "Why did you make me so?" ...and the next day...(You get the picture) ...to be asking those same questions day after day and wanting to hear an answer that God won't give because He is the answer and He won't be created in our image and He won't lie to us...Sometimes I think we may want to hear a lie from God....To remain a victim is to be totally discontent with where you are. The gain from the pain is the godliness with contentment. To say to yourself, this is not the path I would have chosen for myself, but it's where you led me, Lord.

In the book of Job, God is NOT on trial.... Job is on trial. In the book of Life, God is NOT on trial, YOU are on trial.... The question is not "Where is God when you are hurting?"...The question is "Where are YOU when you are hurting?".... God is the same. When you're in the fire, you can get bitter or you can get better as many have said.

From time to time, we may all feel a little "victimized," but a person doesn't feel "survivorized," you experience that. It's called having victory over your past, taking control of your present with the grace of God, and believing in faith that tomorrow will be better.

Like the old song says, "Life isn't fair always, but I know that God is"...Jesus in His humanity experienced a way through the unfairness with His sacrificial love. Those are the keys to being a survivor - forgiveness and acceptance. Not easy tasks, but necessary ones.

If you really LIVE this prayer, it does help you to become a Survivor, NOT a victim:

God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The Courage to change the things I can,
And the Wisdom to know the difference.

(Man, I almost broke into my rendition of "I am a WOMAN of Constant Sorrows, I've seen trouble all my days"...LOL)

The title of this post may be sung to the tune of "Hey, I'm a Believer Now, Since Jesus Set Me Free"..

[chosenbyone]

Originally Posted by Malvaro

you know why this thread should be encouraging to everyone? because it shows that many, many people have been hurt.... but have chosen to be survivors, overcomers and conquerors!!! Ultimately, its a choice of attitude and mind-set....

AMEN!!!! Why should we dwell on the past when God has made us overcomers? Doesn't His word declare we are new creatures? We should never allow ourselves to follow the drumbeat of this world!

To take on the role of a victim is to take away from the power of the cross.

[Michlow]

Originally Posted by Malvaro

you know why this thread should be encouraging to everyone? because it shows that many, many people have been hurt.... but have chosen to be survivors, overcomers and conquerors!!! Ultimately, its a choice of attitude and mind-set....

Actually, I don't find that encouraging. It's like telling those who go to bed hungry because there is no money for food, or the woman whose husband takes his anger out on her with his fists, or the child who loses a parent.... "hey, stop whining, there are lots of people who have it worse than you."

And you know what, it's true. There is ALWAYS someone that has it worse then you. But that knowledge does absolutely nothing to diminish the very real pain and suffering that we experience.

You know how I feel when I am going through a very hard time and someone responds to me like that? I feel worthless. I feel invisible. I feel as if my pain is unimportant and meaningless. It makes ME feel unimportant and meaningless.

Tell me honestly, does that fact that others have lost children and survived, do anything to diminish the anguish a mother feels that her child is dead?

Does the fact that thousands upon thousands of people have lived through the pain of divorce, do anything to comfort those who lie awake at night, feeling so alone in their marriage bed?

Where is your love? Where is your compassion?

[Subdued]

Originally Posted by Michlow

Actually, I don't find that encouraging. It's like telling those who go to bed hungry because there is no money for food, or the woman whose husband takes his anger out on her with his fists, or the child who loses a parent.... "hey, stop whining, there are lots of people who have it worse than you."

And you know what, it's true. There is ALWAYS someone that has it worse then you. But that knowledge does absolutely nothing to diminish the very real pain and suffering that we experience.

You know how I feel when I am going through a very hard time and someone responds to me like that? I feel worthless. I feel invisible. I feel as if my pain is unimportant and meaningless. It makes ME feel unimportant and meaningless.

Tell me honestly, does that fact that others have lost children and survived, do anything to diminish the anguish a mother feels that her child is dead?

Does the fact that thousands upon thousands of people have lived through the pain of divorce, do anything to comfort those who lie awake at night, feeling so alone in their marriage bed?

Where is your love? Where is your compassion?

Michlow, I think you read about my daughter's broken arm in the other thread...??? I think what Malvaro might be trying to say is something like:

[Relating this to my daughter's injury...] It was a great comfort for me to know that the surgeon who fixed my daughter's arm was an experienced specialist in children's orthopedic surgery. I was grateful to him for sharing some sucess stories of other patients who had similar injuries. It helped me to see past my daughter's pain and know that she would get through it and become well again.

[Michlow]

Originally Posted by Subdued

Michlow, I think you read about my daughter's broken arm in the other thread...??? I think what Malvaro might be trying to say is something like:

[Relating this to my daughter's injury...] It was a great comfort for me to know that the surgeon who fixed my daughter's arm was an experienced specialist in children's orthopedic surgery. I was grateful to him for sharing some sucess stories of other patients who had similar injuries. It helped me to see past my daughter's pain and know that she would get through it and become well again.

Yes, it helped YOU, but did it do anything to alleviate your daughter's pain? Do you think at the moment that your daughter was experiencing the most intense pain of her life, that she gave any thought to the fact that months later the pain would be gone?

I think knowing that others have survived it helps the people watching their loved ones experience pain, more than it helps the people who are actually in pain.