My Dear Friend,

Every Christian, if trusting, obedient, and persistent, can grow to become a master overcomer - one who, like Christ, is unoffendable, undisturbable, and undefeatable. The Psalmist tells us how.

He declares, "Great peace have they who love thy law, and nothing shall offend them" (Psalm 119:165). The overcoming life begins with "loving God's law." Jesus taught emphatically that if we love Him we will keep His Word (John 14:15, 21, 23). The word "law" here means instruction, specifically in the Torah, but generally throughout all God's inspired Word.

So, "loving God's law" means obeying all the instructions of His Word - which implies we care enough to study His Word, believe it, and seriously work it out in daily living. Therefore, a lover of God's law is a diligent student, believer, and practitioner of His Word.

Sweet benefits await these Word-lovers. Specifically, this text says they will "not stumble" in life but will instead enjoy "great peace." Let's look closer.

"Nothing shall offend [stumble] them..." Nothing life throws at us will trip us up and take us down spiritually. Through every adversity, loss, rejection, or apparent failure of God's promises, we will remain steady and continue walking closely with Jesus. How?

We are seeing life through spiritual lenses now, not our old carnal viewfinder. Continuing in the Scriptures enables us to continue to grow in scriptural mindedness - which is spiritual mindedness. And this brings God's supernatural peace: "To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace" (Romans 8:6). As we prayerfully search God's Word daily, the Holy Spirit gives us insight into why our adversity has come, reassures us our heavenly Father is still in control, and tells us what to believe and how to respond to our difficulties. And if, with a childlike heart, we simply believe it and obey it, we grow less and less offended at offensive situations until, eventually, we become unoffendable. And blessed!

Jesus pronounced special blessing on spiritually minded Christians: "Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me" (Luke 7:23). This special blessing envelops those who refuse to allow any mean-spirited adversary or strange adversity, however unfair or insulting, to get between them and Jesus. How does this blessing come?

Every time offensive situations arise they step back, consider what action God's Word advises, and comply with its instructions - and stay close - very close - to Jesus, forgiving repeatedly and offering sacrifices of thanksgiving often. He has reserved special blessings for these meek, trusting, persistently obedient ones.

The Psalmist identifies the chief blessing: "Great peace!" As we refuse to take offense, forgiving every offender and accepting every offensive situation from our Father's hand for our ultimate good, we remain near Jesus. This constant nearness to the Prince of Peace fosters in us an ever-growing, ever-deepening inner tranquility, a strong, quiet confidence in the unfailing love and faithful care of God and His unchangingly good purpose for our life. Thus, whatever billows roll and break over our lives, we rest, inwardly undisturbed.

As this steady, close union with God continues, more of God's peace is released in us and so our peace grows day by day until we have "great peace." In this condition things that used to rattle, frustrate, or discourage us no longer do so. Why? Because, again, every time trouble visits, we offer thanks, pray for God's counsel, and search His Word until we find His instruction. Then we quietly follow it, and God's "great peace" meets us and strengthens us to do what we could not do before. We not only have the victory, we are the victory. And Christ is so pleased!

Soon the simple power of all this hits us. If we just hold fast to this attitude, nothing can defeat us spiritually. No person. No demon. No devil. No apparent defeat. No loss. No betrayal. No delay. No slander. Nothing! Christ has deeply and thoroughly changed us. We are one of His master overcomers, like Joseph, David, Nehemiah, and Paul: unoffendable, undisturbable, undefeatable!

Unoffended,

Greg Hinnant
Greg Hinnant Ministries