I had the privilege of being a part of a missionary work in the West African nation of Ivory Coast, correctly know known as – La Cote D’Ivoire between 1990 and 1994.

By the time I signed on, they had planted about 6 or more Churches around Abidjan – capital city. Those days were special: knocking on doors, walking the neighborhoods, holding All Night Prayer meetings and community gathering for fasting and praying. A revival was happening all around us – young and old coming to know Jesus and being filled with the Holy Ghost. These are some of the best days of my life and ministry.

The people we ministered to were just like me. They were refugees, displaced, cut off from family, scattered in this foreign land and living among people with a strange tongue. They were often abused, and un-welcomed and mocked in the public square.

You would think their pain and sorrow would define them, break them and leave them in despair. You would think their loneliness, loss, and inability to return to their homes would keep them in shackles of gloom and doom. But when they began to worship – heaven took notice, mountains moved, Devils were chased away in utter confusion. Good Lord, they understood what it means to worship! In their dire straits, at their wit’s end – they understood the power of praise.

There was one song we would sing at the close of every service. It was a simple chorus but loaded with a dynamite of truth. We sang it over and over again and over again. It was a declaration of faith – a declaration of war. We wanted the devil to know exactly where we stood. So we would sing:

We have overcome, we have overcome – by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of the Lord – We have overcome. Jesus Christ is King, Jesus Christ is King – the strong man is bound, the victory is won, we have overcome.

Every week, as I traveled to those 6 or more churches to teach Bible studies, lead worship or preach the word, I would see hundreds of broken and traumatized people come alive and find hope that only Jesus can give. I would see people look into their dire consequences and with faith declare their victory in Jesus. I would see hundreds healed and set free from the power of the enemy, and filled with the joy of the Lord.

I was one of those people – suicidal, hurting, confused, bedridden with a blood disease that was slowly killing me. For six month, I would toss and turn all through the night hoping to find sleep from a troubled mind.

But one day I found Jesus – I should say, He found me. I still remember those days – jumping around, dancing and weeping with ecstatic joy in those churches. My spiritual father used to call me the weeping prophet, because of the tears pouring down my chicks when we worshiped Jesus.

See, “when I think about the Lord, how he saved me; raised me; filled me up with the Holy Ghost; how he healed me to the uttermost” – it does something within me.

I don’t care how dire your circumstances are today – if you would look in the face of Jesus, you will find solace for your weary soul. You are an overcomer! I urge you to look into your darkness with the light of Jesus and declare your victory. I urge you to storm the gates of hell and bind the strong man by the victory of the cross and the power of the blood. I urge you to stand on his word today.

Here is why – we have overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of the Lord. The strong man is bound, the victory is won. You are more than a conqueror!