BY REV. OLUSOLA & REV. OYENIKE AREOGUN
DATE: SATURDAY, 24TH JANUARY, 2026
SCRIPTURE READING: ROMANS 8:17; 1 SAMUEL 17:32
“And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” (Romans 8:17)
I. THE THEOLOGY OF SUFFERING: AFFLICTION VS. TRAINING
DEVELOPING AN OVERCOMER’S HEART TO BECOME FRUITFUL
As we move toward the final week of January 2026, we must confront a dangerous “comfort-doctrine” that has permeated modern Christianity. Many believe that the absence of pressure is a sign of God’s favor. However, Romans 8:17 presents a “Joint-Heirship Protocol”: the path to the glory is inseparable from the path of suffering.
To become an overcomer, you must first understand the Ontology of Suffering. The Bible identifies two distinct types of “suffering”:
The Affliction of the Devil: This includes sickness, poverty, and demonic oppression. This is not for your training; this is for your destruction. You must resist this with every spiritual weapon at your disposal.
The Affliction of the Gospel (Divine Training): This is the “God-allowed” pressure designed to extract maturity from your soul. It is the discipline of the secret place, the trial of delayed manifestation, and the furnace of character development.
If you go through this training “beautifully”—without complaint and with a posture of surrender—it produces the “Wealth of Maturity.” If you go through it murmuring, you are essentially “failing the test” and will be required to repeat the class. God is a loving Father, but He is not a “Pampering Father” who weakens His children. He will not remove the weight if that weight is what is building your spiritual muscles.
II. THE DAVIDIC SECRET: PRIVATE BATTLES AND PUBLIC DOMINION
In 1 Samuel 17, we see the ultimate contrast between Size and Heart. King Saul was the tallest man in Israel. He had the best armor, the most military training, and the highest title. Yet, when Goliath appeared, Saul’s “Heart” failed him. He was a “Quitter” in a king’s robes.
On the other hand, we see David—a boy with no military school on his resume. What David had was Heart Architecture.
The Lion and the Bear: While David was alone in the bush, he faced private battles that no one cheered for. Those battles were not a waste of time; they were a “Heart-Building” exercise.
Refusal to Give Up: Overcomers are not people who live in a “battle-free zone.” They are people who have reached a point of Internal Inflexibility. They refuse to give up inside the situation.
Many Christians lose their battles in 2026 not because the devil is stronger, but because their “Internal Endurance” is too thin. They give up at the 11th hour, just before the “Signature of the King” is stamped on their situation. The pressure you are facing right now is doing something to your heart. Is it making you a “Quitter” or an “Overcomer”?
III. THE LABOR OF RESISTANCE: BUILDING THE NEW FRONTIER
There is a “Labor of Faith” required of couples, parents, and leaders in this season.
Parental Vigilance: Many parents have “accepted” what they should have “arrested.” If the enemy attacks your child’s health or mind, do not “negotiate.” If it takes twenty-one days of fasting and prayer to see that yoke broken, give it! An overcomer does not accept “Satanic status quo.”
Marital Fortitude: As a couple, you must labor together to build your destiny. You do not have the time or the luxury to “start over.” The overcomer’s heart says, “I will stay with God in this marriage, in this calling, and in this assignment until the will of God is fully birthed.
In 2026, the Holy Spirit is looking for “Authorized Overcomers”—those who have been processed through the training and can now be trusted with “Bigger Fruits.” You cannot be trusted with a global harvest if you cannot handle a local headache.
IV. THE OVERCOMER’S ANATOMY: A DIAGNOSTIC
How do you know if you are developing an overcomer’s heart? Look at your response to pressure:
- The Quitter: Focuses on the “Why me?” and seeks the easiest exit.
- The Overcomer: Focuses on the “What is God saying?” and seeks the “Internal Growth.
The overcomer understands that Fruitfulness is a function of Root-Depth. Roots grow deepest when the surface is dry. If your life is to bear fruits that “remain,” your heart must be strengthened by the Holy Spirit. You must move from being a “Churchgoer” (a spectator) to being an “Overcomer” (a participator in the glory).
THOUGHT TO PONDER
What does the way I handle pressure say about my heart today? If God looks at my response to my current crisis, can He trust me with the “Bigger Battles” that lead to “Bigger Fruits”? What changes in my attitude must I embrace today?
STRATEGIC PRAYER DECREES
For Heart Architecture: Lord, work on my heart. Deliver me from the spirit of the “Quitter.” Remove the “Pampering” that makes me weak and replace it with the “Training” that makes me strong.
For Resistance: I decree that every affliction of the devil against my family and my health is arrested! I stand my ground in the Name of Jesus. I will not negotiate away my future!
For Endurance: Father, give me the heart of an overcomer. Let me stay in the secret place until my heart is fashioned after the heart of Christ. I shall not repeat the class of 2025; I move into the “Graduation Year” of 2026!
For Fruitfulness: I declare that I am a “Tree of Righteousness.” Because my heart is becoming strong, my fruits shall be “Fruits that Remain.” I shall dominate my world with the life of God in me!
BIBLE IN A YEAR: Genesis 48:1-49:33; Matthew 15:29-16:12; Psalm 20:1-9; Proverbs 4:20-27
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: A heart that has not been “tested” by a bear cannot be “trusted” with a Goliath. Embrace your private battles!
PROPHETIC WORD: I see a “Heart-Shift” happening in you! You are moving from “Fragile” to “Fortified.” The giants of 2026 shall become bread for you, because your heart has become the heart of an Overcomer!
