Living Victoriously In 2025

While billions of people are celebrating the New Year 2025, some families are experiencing great sadness because they have lost their loved ones due to crimes committed by evil people, such as the New Orleans truck attack. These families hoped the new year would bring them success and happiness. However, they started the new year with deep heartache. Some hoped that in the new year, they would have good health, but at the beginning of the year, they had already experienced illness. A few days ago someone contacted me asking for prayer because she was experiencing an "anxiety attack."

As we enter this new year, we certainly have hopes. However, we realize that the reality that occurs is sometimes not as we expect. If so, how can we be ready to face whatever will happen this year? How can we remain strong, steadfast, and victorious in facing any situation this year? I want to share three things that we must do:

1. Always be on guard. Physically, being on guard shows that we are not asleep, we are conscious so that we can know if there is danger approaching us. Spiritually, being on guard shows that we have a close fellowship with God, and strong faith and we are alert to temptations or attacks from Satan on us. If we want a victorious life, we must always be on guard as the Apostle Paul advised in 1 Thessalonians 5:6 – “So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober.”

The Lord Jesus also advised us to always be on guard because we do not know when He will return or when our last day on this earth will be – “Therefore keep watch, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming” (Matthew 24:42). How much we will lose if when Christ comes the second time or when we are called home, we are in a state of weak faith and far from God.

2. In addition to being on guard, we must also always pray. The Apostle Paul admonishes us in Ephesians 6:18a – “ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” Also in Colossians 4:2 - “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” In his life and ministry, Paul faced many difficulties, challenges, and even suffering. But he could endure and remain strong because he was always watchful and praying. Paul truly relied on the strength and help of the Holy Spirit.

The Lord Jesus also told His disciples that they must always watch and pray in Mark 14:38 – “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” The Lord Jesus told Peter, John, and James who were asleep to wake up and pray because soon they would face a tough challenge as disciples of Christ. They needed to watch and pray so that they didn't fall into temptation. Unfortunately, they remained asleep. As a result, when Jesus was arrested, they were afraid and ran away, even Peter denied that he was a disciple of Christ.

That experience may have prompted Peter to write 1 Peter 5:8 - “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Our enemy, the Devil, diligently goes around looking for spiritually sleeping Christians to devour, to shake their faith. Be aware, brothers, that Satan tries to weaken our faith, make us doubt God's love, make us lazy to commune with God, lazy to go to church and serve God! May every day throughout this year, we always watch and pray so that we can be victorious in facing the temptations and attacks of Satan.

3. Surrender to God. As we enter this year, we may be worried that something we don't want will happen. Indeed, as I said above, the reality of life is sometimes not what we expect. However, if God allows something to happen, we should learn to surrender to Him. Why? There are at least three reasons:

a. Because God preserves our lives. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxiety on Him, for He cares for you.” The Word of God states that God is the Preserver of our lives. This means that He is the one who guards, protects, leads, and provides for our needs. That does not mean that we will be free from various problems or difficulties in this world. As we discussed last week, as long as we live in this world we cannot escape from problems, but God can use these problems to shape and mature us.

Even if God allows us to die, we are truly still within the scope of Christ's love that brings us to Him in eternity. The Apostle Paul stated: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39).