We Are More Than Conquerors
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Romans 8:37 says, “We are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” To conquer is to be victorious over an adversary. To be “more than a conqueror” means we not only achieve victory, but we are overwhelmingly victorious. ...
There are many illustrations in the Old Testament of God bringing miraculous victory to His people, Israel. Humanly speaking, Israel was no match for their enemies. But God cautioned them not to be afraid, that He would fight their battles for them. Exodus 14:14 says, “The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still.” The Lord told Jeremiah that He was bringing armies against the rebellious Israelites as punishment for their disobedience, but even then, “‘They ... will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,’ declares the Lord.”1 In one instance, an entire army fled their own camp when God caused them to hear the sounds of a great army coming. The famine-racked Israelites were able to plunder the enemy camp and provide for their families through no act of their own.2 Not only were they saved from an approaching army, but they actually benefited from the threat. They were “more than conquerors.”
Satan is our adversary. He sends all kinds of life-defeating, joy-stealing attacks to threaten the well-being and faith of God’s children. Many of those attacks are listed in Romans 8:35–39: trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, and sword. Paul is encouraging us to stand firm in our faith when those attacks come, reminding us that not only will we win in the end, but Jesus enables us to win now. Satan lacks the power to steal our eternal destiny, and he cannot separate us from the love of God right now. Nothing we face worries God in the least. If we are His children through faith in His Son, then we have His pledge of love and protection. In John 10:27–29, Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”
To be more than conquerors means we face the trials of life with the certainty that we are not alone. We have a mighty Father who fights for us. We approach the darkest valleys with confidence, knowing that nothing can happen to us that is not permitted by our loving Father for our good.3 We have His promise of eternal life4 and the presence of Almighty God every moment of every day until we see Him face to face.5 No sin of ours and no attempt of the enemy can steal the loving care of God from our lives, and that makes us more than conquerors through Christ who loves us.—From GotQuestions.org
Count it all joy
Battles make you stronger. Hardships teach you resolve and perseverance. Crushings squeeze out the bad and bring forth the good. Fires of testing burn out the dross and purify you. Loneliness draws you closer to Me. Inadequacy helps you realize how much you need Me. Sorrow gives you compassion. Difficulties cause you to praise and thank Me for the good times. The rains of adversity help to clear your vision as you keep your eyes on Me.
So “count it all joy” when you face trials and temptations, knowing that in all these things you will be more than conquerors in Me.—Jesus, speaking in prophecy
Overcoming obstacles
While your circumstances may not change—at least not immediately—God can help you rise above circumstances. If the obstacles won’t move out of your way, He’ll help you go over or under or around them. He may not take away all your troubles, but He will bring you through them.
The Christian’s life doesn’t get easier; it gets better. How wonderful that life can be once you have learned to use God’s power and grace to help you overcome the obstacles! Stumbling blocks become stepping stones. Wings are fashioned out of weights. You can gracefully rise above the daily problems, afflictions, and hardships of life.—Shannon Shayler6
What God hath promised
God hath not promised
Skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways,
All our lives thru’.
God hath not promised
Sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow,
Peace without pain.
God hath not promised
That we shall not know
Toil and temptation,
Trouble and woe;
He hath not told us
We shall not bear
Many a burden,
Many a care.
God hath not promised
Smooth roads and wide,
Swift, easy travel,
Needing no guide;
Never a mountain,
Rocky and steep,
Never a river
Turbid and deep.
But God hath promised
Strength for the day,
Rest for the labor,
Light for the way,
Grace for the trials,
Help from above,
Unfailing sympathy,
Undying love.
—Annie Johnson Flint
Strength for the battle
The great American civil rights leader Martin Luther King was a person with tremendous courage. He endured vilification, beatings, imprisonments, death threats. His house was firebombed, and as we all know, he eventually was assassinated.
So what kept him going? It was his strong sense of God’s call upon his life. King was just 26 years old when he was appointed leader of the civil rights campaign in Montgomery, Alabama. Apart from terrifying threats from the Ku Klux Klan, King was harassed by police. Arrested for driving 5 miles per hour over the speed limit, he was given his first stint in jail. The night after his release he was at home when the phone rang. A menacing voice on the other end said, “We are tired of you and your mess now. And if you aren’t out of this town in three days, we’re going to blow your brains out and blow up your house.”
King was unnerved and very afraid—for himself, for his wife and for his little children. Shortly after the phone call he sat at his kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee. “And I sat at that table” he said, “thinking about that little girl and thinking about the fact that she could be taken away from me at any minute. And I started thinking about a dedicated, devoted and loyal wife, who was over there asleep... And I got to the point where I couldn’t take it anymore. I was weak...
“And I discovered then that religion had to become real to me, and I had to know God for myself. And I bowed down over that cup of coffee. I will never forget it... I said, ‘Lord, I’m down here trying to do what’s right. I think I’m right. I think the cause we represent is right. But Lord, I must confess that I’m weak now. I’m faltering. I’m losing my courage.’ ... And it seemed to me at that moment that I could hear an inner voice saying to me, ‘Martin Luther, stand up for righteousness. Stand up for justice. Stand up for truth. And lo, I will be with you, even until the end of the world.’ ... I heard the voice of Jesus saying still to fight on. He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone. No, never alone. No, never alone. He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone.”
Three nights later the menacing threat made in the phone call came true: a bomb exploded on the front verandah of the King home. Thankfully no one was hurt. But King was able to get through it: “My religious experience a few nights before had given me strength to face it.” Time and again throughout his ministry Martin Luther King returned to that experience to strengthen him as he faced terrible difficulties.—From storiesforpreaching.com7
Published on Anchor August 2018. Read by Jerry Paladino.
Music by Michael Dooley.
1 Jeremiah 1:19 NIV.
2 2 Kings 7.
3 Psalm 23:4; Romans 8:28.
4 John 3:16; Titus 1:2; 1 John 5:11.
5 Psalm 139:7–12; Deuteronomy 31:8; Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 28:20.
6 Obstacles Are for Overcoming (Aurora Production, 2010).
7 https://storiesforpreaching.com/category/sermonillustrations/finishing-the-race.
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