"Victory"

“He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

- Genesis 3:15b

Have you ever seen or felt a battle that had yet to be won? Perhaps a promise made in endearment or a deadline built in accountability. The more I think about the comings and goings of life, it really is a collage of things lost and things somewhat conquered.

Naturally when creating “Victory,” I began thinking about the concept of what it really means to win. When we overcome a challenge, whether it be physical, mental, or even relational, we chalk that up to a “win.” While I would not call that incorrect, it begs the question, what about the moments when triumph is encountered, but not in a victorious format?

Take the chapter of the Bible where this very verse lives. Man and woman have just chosen their own appetite over God. The first sin has been committed, and they have been discovered hiding themselves from the presence of their Savior. In the wake of this decision, the story of mankind that is still being written today is penned.

God banished His children from the Garden, and alters certain laws of nature at punishment, including the pain of childbirth and the toil of earth for food. But in this same breath, God also gives Adam and Even the ending of this story. Promising them that there will be no consequential pain He will not use or redeem. While I’m not sure they understood everything the Father was saying to them in that moment, it is something you and I can read with a comfort in the Hope of Glory.

There are moments we experience like this too. Injury that requires recovery. Heartbreak that requires healing. Death that is only consolable through fond memory and the promise of walking with Jesus once more. It can be hard to walk with confidence and triumph when met with so many splinters. With that in mind, I’m grateful for a God who felt the pain of a chewed up heel like you and I do. Unlike us, He was the only one truly capable of leaning into the pain enough to crush the serpent’s head.

One day, we will see this victory in its fullness, but today, I find that when the moments of death and darkness cut through and tempt me to fall behind, victory still stands. It does not (and often won’t) come with a finish line and accolade. It doesn’t look pretty or feel good. It often requires more strength to keep going. No, victory is rarely found in the outcomes of our efforts. Victory is found in a God who invites us to walk with Him in a story He already wrote.