Victory

Romans 8:35-37 (NASB)
³⁵ Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶ Just as it is written, "FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED." ³⁷ But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

What a way to begin a day!! The end of the school semester has brought ample time for my brain to flood with all other types of thoughts and emotions. Painful memories, current struggles and doubts, and many other things that tend to hamper faith have come to the forefront of my mind, but today I started with these verses. It struck me that the verses do not say we endure, but it says that we conquer!! We win!! We have overcome any obstacle that may inhibit us from experiencing the fullness of the life of Christ. How so? Is the life of victory in Christ an easy care free life? May it never be!! It is through tribulation, distress, persecution, and suffering that we come to know and experience the fullness of Christ. Through Him, and through Him only, do we not only overcome these obstacles but we conquer them as a glorious victory on the field of battle called life. When we refuse to let the disease that is destroying our body overcome our joy in Christ, we conquer!! When we refuse to let the needs of life overwhelm us, we conquer!! When we refuse to lash out at the one who is hurting us, we conquer!! When we refuse to give in to the temptations of life, in public and in private, we conquer!! When we face death and we refuse to lose hope, we conquer!! In all these things Christ's power, glory, and magnificence is brought to the forefront of our minds, shown in our lives, and seen by others. In these times we bear a greater witness for Christ than we could in a thousand lifetimes of joy, peace, and ease.

The greatest theological question people seem to have is "How can there be a good God and suffering in this world?" When we face the trials of life, refuse to give in to the despair they can bring, and  give Christ glory, then we show that only through Him can we endure the suffering this life brings with hope. Because only in Christ do we have hope. Who else answers the question "How can a man be justified before God?" Through Him we have conquered the greatest peril to a man's soul: the debt of sin that separates us from Him. Peter said in Acts that there is no other name under Heaven given among men whereby we MUST be saved!! Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me." Only in Him and through Him is there any hope at all for this life and the life that follows for it is appointed for man once to die and after this the judgment. We have an appointment to keep that no one has ever missed and a follow up immediately after. Are you prepared for the follow up? Will you win this race of life? Only through Jesus Christ is victory possible.