Ever felt the shadowy presence of dark demons circling at the edge of your life like wolves circling a weakened animal waiting for the right moment to rush in for the kill? In those moments, temptation whispers seductively, "Escape into my arms." Despair reaches out trying to hide the light of hope. Fatigue settles in, making every step an effort, and the body aches. Small hills turn into mountains, minor irritations provoke eruptions of anger. There are many reasons that such times come; illness, conflict, spiritual attack- but a few. The Bible has an encouraging word for a Believer in that place. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? .... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:35-39, NIV)
"More than conquerors" - what can that mean?
The phrase is actually a translation of a single compound word in the Biblical text, that literally could be translated - "super victor." The word conveys the meaning of winning so decisively that the defeated enemy is done, unable to retreat and regroup for another attack. God says that He will pour His strength into us so that we have no reason to question our ability to emerge from the fight in any other place than as a victor, a 'super victor' at that. The Holy Spirit stands ready to infuse us with insight and faith, helping us to see through the illusions of overwhelming and inevitable strength created by the world systems, the craving of our sinful nature, or the Evil One. Believer, He is greater than your trials, your tests, your difficulties.
In Sunday School I learned a little song that becomes even more true in my adulthood: Jesus loves me, this I know; for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong! When they are weak, He is strong! Never get down on yourself because you feel the pressure. Do not conclude that you are a 'poor excuse for a Christian' just because you are experiencing rough days, or because you are weary to the point of despair! None other than Paul came to that low point, too. He says, "We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead." (2 Corinthians 1:8-9, NLT) The truth is that even the greatest foe of humanity, death, cannot defeat those whose lives are hidden in Christ! Should we die, we enter the Presence of the Lord, where troubles cannot come, temptation is without any power, and Light always shines brightly. "So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?'" (Hebrews 13:6, NIV)
Are you tested today? Jesus is strong.
Are you troubled? He is peace.
Don't fall into the trap of thinking that your bravado is the answer. Don't worry about saying 'the right words' to insure your success. In fact, don't focus on yourself, at all! Trials and troubles come, at least in part, to teach us the folly of self reliance so that we will "rely only on God!" Here's a word from the Word that shows us the right posture to adopt when the demons lurk near. "Come and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah" (Psalm 46:8-11, NIV)
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