Joshua 12:7
“And these are the kings of the country which Joshua and the children of Israel smote on this side Jordan on the west, from Baalgad in the valley of Lebanon even unto the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir; which Joshua gave unto the tribes of Israel for a possession according to their divisions;”
The verse above is an itemization of Israel’s victories. At the point this verse was recorded, they had conquered several cities, but they still had more land to subdue. One of the reasons God wanted this recorded was because He wanted Israel to keep a victory mindset. God wanted them to remember what He had already helped them to do, but He also wanted them to keep perpetuating victories so that future generations would learn a victory mindset. There are several principles seen in these verses if you want to experience victory perpetuity.
First, fresh victories must not drown out the remembrance of former victories. When you read the remainder of this chapter, you will see that God records every battle they won. His purpose in doing this was so that they didn’t forgot each victory. He didn’t want the fresh victory to diminish the honor of previous victories. You must be careful that you don’t allow present victories to take away from the magnitude of previous ones. One of the greatest ways to keep discouragement from overcoming you is to keep every victory God has given you fresh in your mind.
Second, every victory will be different, but they each are a victory. You will notice that some victories were fought in the mountains, some in the valleys and others in the plains. Every victory will not give you a mountain top feeling. Some victories will leave you at times feel like you’ve not accomplished much, and others may almost feel like a defeat. What you must never forget is that no matter how you feel after a victory it is still a victory. Being thankful for each victory in life will help you to keep a right mindset towards the Christian life.
Third, victory is obtained one battle at a time. God defines each victory as “one.” One of the mistakes many Christians make is that they try to win everything at one time instead of fighting one battle at a time. The Christian life is won one battle at a time. Don’t get discouraged that you still haven’t got to where you want to be, because what you have yet to conquer are future victories God has in store for you. Just keep fighting one battle at a time. You will find that is how you grow in grace. Every great Christian has gotten to where they are by fighting one battle at a time.
Fourth, don’t revel in the victory too long, another battle is coming. A mistake many people make is that they revel in the victory so long that the next battle destroys them. Indeed, you should take a short amount of time to praise the LORD and enjoy the victory, but remember that the Devil is not going to sit idly by and let you celebrate the victory. The Devil is going to regroup and quickly come back at you. Continuing what gave you a victory after the victory is what will help you to continue to see victory when the next battle comes. Don’t let your victory be the catalyst of defeat by reveling in it and stopping what made you successful. You will perpetuate victories by staying faithful and continuing to do what brought you victories in the past.