More Than Conquerors

"Amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him who love(s) us."
                                                                 Romans 8:37




Sometimes life can hit really hard and it would seem that we are no match for all the warfare and opposition that stands against us. We can be living our lives and suddenly we feel bombarded by circumstances that are overwhelming and intimidating. We scramble for solutions to our dilemma but, at times, that can be elusive at best. If we are really honest with ourselves, we realize that the giant that stands before us is far too big for us to conquer on our own.

With knees knocking we have to choose whether to flee or stand to overcome that which is much bigger than our ability. Fight or flight. Upon deeper introspection we find that we have an ally that has already overcome our giants. He has already overcome the world and every problem contained within it. The question comes down to whether or not we will truly believe that he stands ready to fight on our behalf.

This becomes an even more daunting decision if we have a personality that is non-confrontational and non-aggressive. And yet, somehow God gets even more glory when this is the case. Enter Elisha. It would have made far more sense for God to have called Elijah known as the "son of thunder" to confront the enemy armies that threatened Israel but instead He chose the quiet farm boy named Elisha. And it was through this unsuspecting witness  that God showed Himself strong to King Joram and the people of Israel during a time of a severe famine.

Elisha came to the king with a message. He said, "Tomorrow about this time..." (2 Kings 7:1). He went on to explain that food would become available again and the inflationary prices of this food would go away. An officer of the king scoffed and mocked Elisha at his proclamation. Instead of his faith being ignited at the miracle God would bring to the Israelites, his heart was hardened and he ridiculed the prophet of God.

Even though the circumstances for the Israelites were extremely dire and there were many on the verge of death, God still had a plan. And for those who believed, there was blessing and victory right around the corner. The only one who missed out on this blessing was the king's official that had hardened his heart. Instead of conquering and witnessing the miracle of God, he was trampled to death in the excitement of those who did believe.

The commotion occurred when the people of God realized that the Syrian army had fled because of a sound that God had let them hear which mimicked the sound of a vast army coming against them. They not only fled but they did so with such speed that they left all their food and valuables for the Israelites to appropriate. God honored the word that Elisha had spoken and He provided for the starving, beleaguered Israelites that would have been so easily defeated by the Syrians. They were spared and they were blessed. They were "more than conquerors".  God fulfilled His promise then just as He does for us today.

We also have an adversary today that is just as real as the adversaries the Israelites faced. His job is to "steal, kill, and destroy" (John 10:10). And that is what he attempts to do on a daily basis. The apostle, Paul, listed some of the hardships of believers as: trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, and sword (Romans 8:35-39). Paul exhorts us to stand firm in our faith when the attacks come against us and assures us that through Jesus we have God's promise of love and protection.

So often, we think that to overcome means that we escape the attacks and opposition, but this is not the case. We are "more than conquerors" in the midst of them. Our victory is not circumstantial or positional. It is relational. As long as we are attached to Christ and the victory He obtained through the Cross and His resurrection, we, too, are victorious.

It is in our yielding to the Lordship of Christ that we see the victory manifested on our behalf.  Paul tells us that our purpose is that we "may know Him [progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly],that we may come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection and that we may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] unto His death" (Philippians 3:10).

Submission and resurrection power go hand in hand. We submit when circumstances are good and we submit during the onslaughts of our enemy. As we do, we will see God show Himself strong on our behalf. The literal translation of 1 Corinthians 15:57  is, "But thanks be to our God who keeps on giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

If today you are feeling less than "more than a conqueror", let me assure you that God is with you and He is fighting on your behalf. No sin of ours nor any attempt of the enemy can steal God's love and protection from your life. We can face our giants and our trials with confidence because we know that God is with us and He is for us.

Here are the lyrics to Rend Collective's song, entitled "More Than Conquerors":

                                                When my hope and strength is gone
                                                You're the One who calls me on
                                                You are the life
                                                You are the fight
                                                That's in my soul

                                                Oh, Your resurrection power
                                                Burns like fire in my heart
                                                When waters rise
                                                I lift my eyes
                                                Up to Your throne

                                                I will sing into the night
                                                Christ is risen and on high
                                                Greater is He
                                                Living in me
                                                Than in the world

                                                No surrender, no retreat
                                                We are free and we're redeemed
                                                We will declare
                                                Over despair
                                                You are the hope

                                                Nothing is impossible
                                                Every chain is breakable
                                                With You, we are victorious
                                                You are stronger than our hearts
                                                You are greater than the dark
                                                With You, we are victorious

                                         Chorus:
                                                We are more than conquerors, through Christ
                                                You have overcome this world, this life
                                                We will not bow to sin or shame
                                                We are defiant in Your Name
                                                You are the fire that cannot be tamed
                                                You are the power in our veins
                                                Our Lord, Our God, Our Conqueror