5 Tips to Being an Overcomer

We all want to conquer the challenges we face in life. These 5 tips from the Bible will help you be an overcomer.

The Bible is the #1 top selling book of all time for a reason. (According to AllTopEverything.com, the Bible has sold 5 billion copies.) The Bible is God’s love letter to us. Among the 66 books of the Bible, one of the many things we find is advice for daily living.

Let’s take a look at one tidbit.

Psalm 37 (rendered here from the NLT) is an ideal daily living guide that can help us be an overcomer.

Step 1 to Being an Overcomer

Verse 1: “Don’t worry.” While the full verse says don’t worry about the wicked, no amount of worry about anything is going to change things. Worry drags you down—spirit, soul, and body. “A fretful, discontented spirit is open to many temptations,” says Matthew Henry in his Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible. Worry means you don’t trust God to take care of things. Instead, give your worries to God as the Bible tells us in 1 Peter 5:7: “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”

Worry is thinking about future events in a negative way. Your thoughts are focused on the negative things that could happen, and that will keep you from being an overcomer. Instead of worrying, focus on the positive things that could happen. Your thoughts direct your actions and your words, and according to Proverbs 18:21 the power of death and life reside in your words. Speak life to your situation.

Keep your thoughts focused on God and He will keep you in His perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3).

Step 2

Verse 3: “Trust in the Lord.” This is the answer to your worry. Trust in and believe God. If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, you are a citizen of heaven and a child of God. All that He has is yours for the asking. Matthew 7:7–8 tell us to “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” This is also stated in Luke 11:9. It doesn’t mean we beg and cajole. It simply means when we have a need, we ask. But you won’t know what He’s provided for you if you don’t spend time reading His Word.

Step 3

Verse 4: “Take delight in the Lord.” Praise and thank Him regularly. Rejoice in His love for you. This stops anger from gaining control and wards off depression. (If feelings of depression persist every day for two weeks or more and impact your ability to function at home, at work, or socially, seek professional help.)

Step 4

Verse 5: “Commit everything you do to the Lord.” To commit something is to entrust it to someone else’s oversight. So to commit your way to the Lord is give Him your life, your work, your dreams, and trust He’ll guide your every footstep (see Psalm 37:23, Psalm 32:8, and Proverbs 16:3). Give everything to God and trust Him to work. As you go about your day, whether at work or at home, seek His guidance, listen for His voice, and obey what He tells you to do.

Step 5

Verse 7: “Be still [rest] in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.” When you live the four steps mentioned above, the logical conclusion is to rest, believe you have received, and wait for His answer. Listen for His voice; He will tell you what your part is in bringing about the answers to your prayers. As you pray, thank Him for His answers. Thankfulness will help you stay focused on God rather than on the problem.

Psalm 37 ends with a promise. “The Lord rescues the godly; he is their fortress in times of trouble. The Lord helps them, rescuing them from the wicked. He saves them, and they find shelter in him” (verses 39, 40). Hallelujah! God not only gives us guidance on how to live, He also promises action on His part. Remembering this will give you hope and help you to continue in the battle. Ask for His strength—when we are weak, He is strong (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Let’s think about this for a moment. If God failed to meet any of His promises, that would make Him a liar. If He is a liar, then He is imperfect and not God. Numbers 23:19 tells us God is not a liar.

Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8 and James 1:17 tell us God does not change. I’m certain there are plenty of other Bible verses that state as much. If God failed to perform even one word of the Bible, that would make the whole Bible useless—if one part isn’t true, how would we know what other parts aren’t true? To believe God, is to believe He is perfect in every way: all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present, infinite, and immutable (not capable of change). What He says and promises we can trust Him to perform (Hebrews 10:23).

In summary, remember to…

• Give God your worries
• Trust Him
• Delight in Him
• Commit your ways to God
• Rest in Him.

If you start each day with even one minute to do these things, you’ll be ready to face any challenge and be an overcomer.