The date is 24th August 2018 and I am writing this blog post from a position of Victory. I’ve said in a previous blog post that as Christians we should fight from a place of Victory and not for victory. So back to my initial point, I just finished resiting some medical written exams. I had not been successful during my first sit but I write this post in faith and Thank God for the Victory he has granted onto me.

For me this is not only a faith-building exercise, it is also a way for me to firstly testify about God’s goodness and secondly, encourage you all. It feels very strange that I am thanking God and testifying about how he brought me through another year of medical school when I can’t physically see it in front of me, but I am more than assured that there is power in Praising God in advance. Where do I begin? I want to keep this short, but that may not be the case depending on how the Spirit leads.

It is often difficult to avoid worrying about the events that unfold in our lives and the hurdles that come our way. We find ourselves falling into a trap in which we ask God why? But the truth is we may never truly get to know why we end up in certain situations or why God makes us go through seemingly longwinded paths to make it to a particular destination. As Christians, it’s important to cultivate a habit in which we aren’t always trying to be the detectives and figuring out God’s plan & purpose for our lives because as I said it’s GOD’S PLAN. We can’t expect to know more than our maker, that’s not how it works.

Fighting from a place of Victory is not easy at all, the enemy detests this so He’s already trying to get into my head but as I go through this experience, I’ll keep adding to the list below which are ways I maintained my stand in fighting from Victory.

1. Gospel Music
   • Listening to gospel music has a very calming effect on the listener and it is an opportunity to partake in praise & worship
   • There is power in Praising God in advance
   • Some songs that have been on repeat for me include; Won’t He Do It by Koryn Hawthorne, Praise on the inside by J Moss, Olowogbogboro (The outstretched hand of God), Great is the Lord by Jonathan McReynolds, Victory belongs to Jesus by Todd Dulaney
2. God’s Word
   • God will use all possible routes & means to communicate to you and encourage you
   • The Bible plan devotions and bible texts I read during this whole period were very applicable to my circumstance – it was as though God was directly speaking to me.
   • 29/08, Another devotion – Happy You, Happy Life! by Drenda Keesee: “If we stay in God’s word, we are able to fight successfully. Don’t wait till the evil day to prepare; instead, meditate on God’s Word day and night. If an attack comes, God’s Word stored up inside of you will quench it!”
   • Some other devotions that helped me during this time were: Stay The Course Because God is Faithful to His promises, Goliath Must Fall: Winning The Battle Against Your Giants by Louie Giglio. Both of which I highly recommend and can be found in the Bible App Plans section (links can be found below)
3. Positive Affirmations
   • The devil is a pathological liar, he wants you to doubt all that God has promised you. The best way to counteract this is to use God’s Word against him
   • Everything the Devil whispers into your head you profess the opposite.
   • Another thing I did was that when I was leaving campus, I repeatedly whispered: “I am returning in September as a 4th-year student”. There is power in the tongue!
4. Inner Circle – Support Network
   • I can’t stress this enough, having an inner circle with godly people is the way forward. An inner circle is a group of people (friends/ loved ones) that you trust and are open with. When you are down and want to give up, these people will continue to encourage you and pray on your behalf (an amazing feeling)
   • There were some days I would be so fixated on the soon coming of my results that it hindered me from enjoying myself even whilst on holiday. However when I shared how I felt with those in my inner circle they sent words of encouragement which eventually lifted my spirits. They prayed for me and with me even when my faith was shaking.
   • Don’t be disheartened even if you feel as though you don’t have an inner circle, God will send unlikely destiny helpers to assist you. I have a friend who I spoke to occasionally in my 3rd year of Uni who been through a similar situation (having to resit his exams in the past). He had kept in touch with me since the first sit results came out, he assisted a lot in my preparation for the resits and continued to keep in touch & encourage me during the wait. God certainly placed this person in my life to be nothing short of a blessing.
5. The Name Of Jesus
   • On the 25/08, I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to attend a gospel concert. I am certain that God specifically orchestrated that whole experience from me being able to secure the tickets even though they were sold out and then making it “on time” despite being late for an hour and a half.
   •  Earlier that morning my devotion said: I am intimately involved in all your moments, and I am training you to be aware of Me at all times. I have taken up residence within you; I am central in your innermost being. Your mind goes off in tangents from its holy Center, time after time. Do not be alarmed by your inability to remain focused on Me. Simply bring your thought gently back to Me each time they wander. The quickest way to redirect your mind to me is to whisper My Name. When I arrived at the event you will not believe it each ministration had a recurring theme which was about the power in Jesus’ name. Definitely not a coincidence – the Holy Spirit was moving and had directed all my steps that day.
   • The name of Jesus is very powerful, Whisper, Shout, Scream it. If fear and anxiety threaten to paralyse you and you can’t say anything else, His Name is more than sufficient to redirect your thoughts and mind back to Him.
6. Prayer is a major Key!
   • Pray Pray Pray!
   • Specific prayer points I had:
     • God, please give me the courage to deal with the outcome of this trial in a mature way. 
     • God give me your peace that passes all understanding.
     • Lord, I believe but help my unbelief. 
   • Share your request with people of God that you trust & are comfortable with; your friends, family, pastors. You can never have too many prayers being sent up on your behalf.

The time was 3:33pm when I received an email;

I am pleased to confirm that you have…

I had successfully completed the academic year and was through to the next chapter. This was a confirmation of what God had already promised me, an earthly confirmation that I had reached my place of Victory. At the beginning of this post, I told you I was fighting from a place of Victory and not for victory and I am here to testify now that as a 4th-year medical student God has brought me to that place of victory.

Thank you for being a part of this faith-building exercise, I pray that you will also be encouraged and reminded that “faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see”. My prayer for you is that as you fight from a position of victory may you receive your report saying: I am pleased to confirm that… 🙏🏾

Leaving you with this final passage: James 1:2-4; Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. We don’t really know the depth of our character until we see how we react under pressure. It is easy to have faith when everything is going well, but can we still keep that faith when our world appears to be turned upside down? This scripture says that the aim of testing our faith is to make us mature and complete, therefore instead of complaining and throwing tantrums when life doesn’t go as we’ve planned, open your eyes to see the opportunity for growth. I once read a quote: Great things never come from our comfort zones. Thus in order for growth to occur it is mandatory for us to be made uncomfortable. Faith thrives in discomfort. 

I tweeted this a while ago and I think it is very appropriate to end this post:

Stay blessed,

Dara x

P.S – If you have any prayer requests please feel free to send me a message via this link: Prayer Request form

Links to the Bible Plans discussed above:

• Stay The Course Because God Is Faithful To His Promises – Sometimes God seems to work so slowly. We wish things could be the way we envision them RIGHT NOW; yet we must trust that God is building a bigger vision, weaving our stories together into His rich tapestry. Pastor Bayless Conley teaches you to remain stable, having a heart free from anxiety and full of confidence that God will get you to exactly where you need to be on time. https://my.bible.com/reading-plans/2768-stay-course-because-god-faithful-to-his-promises
• Happy You, Happy Life! – God has an incredible plan for your life, but it starts with discovering your joy in His presence. In this 14-day devotional, Drenda Keesee combines wit, humour, and encouragement to create a dynamic and prophetic space to encounter God. When we create space for God to move, He never fails to meet us in a powerful way! Get ready to embark on an eye-opening journey toward a happier you. https://my.bible.com/reading-plans/11177-happy-you-happy-life
• Goliath Must Fall: Winning The Battle Against Your Giants – It’s likely you have a giant in your life that is holding you captive, intimidating you, and stealing your joy. Adversaries like fear, rejection, comfort, anger, and addiction stake a claim and gain a foothold in your heart. In this seven-day reading plan, Louie Giglio examines the David and Goliath story to show how those giants can fall: by focusing on the size of our God, not the height of your giants, and by walking in the victory Jesus has already won. https://my.bible.com/reading-plans/4024-goliath-must-fall-winning-battle-against-giants