More Than Conquerors
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Romans 8:37 -- “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
God does not promise to protect us from having any problems, but He does promise to either deliver us from our problems or give us enough grace to go through them in victory (II Cor. 12:9).
Many people think that when they become a Christian they should never have any problems. This belief is encouraged by the unscriptural teachings of extreme positive confession. Looking at the life of Job and the sufferings of the numerous believers who are honored in God’s hall of fame (Heb. 11:32-38) is all that should be needed to counteract these false beliefs.
WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH OUR PROBLEMS?
How should we react to the following types of situations?
Not enough money to pay the bills, put food on the table, or buy clothes for the children.
Loss of a job with no possibility of another one.
Repossession of a car, home, farm, or business.
Bankruptcy.
A home that is burglarized or destroyed by fire.
When doctors say that there is nothing more they can do.
A loved one who is seriously injured or disabled.
Loss of a spouse, child, parent, close friend, or relative through death or suicide.
The physical or sexual abuse of a child or close friend.
The spouse who wants a divorce.
A child who is addicted to drugs or alcohol, becomes pregnant, runs away from home, or is abducted.
The most important thing is not what happens, but how we respond to the circumstances. The message of the Bible is that God is working to bring good and growth for believers in every situation (Rom. 8:28). This may seem unrealistic and naïve, especially when we are right in the middle of a crisis, but this is what the Bible declares, and it is supported by numerous examples.
WHAT GOD ALLOWS
Jesus said that Satan’s plan and purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy, but His plan is for abundant life (Jn. 10:10). The devil attacks us physically, mentally, and spiritually to entice us to sin and to destroy our faith in God, but God allows Satan to attack us for discipline because of sin in our lives or to grow our faith and give us greater victory.
Most of us believe that peace is the absence of problems, so when problems come, we pray that God will remove them. We fail to realize that God has allowed our problems and is trying to work through them for our benefit. That is why the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write “in all these things we are more than conquerors.”
Paul emphasized this same thought in Romans 5:3-5: “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation works patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope makes not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us.”
James said something similar in James 1:2-4: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire [mature] wanting nothing.”
Peter also wrote in II Peter 1:5-7: “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.”
KEEP YOUR FAITH IN CHRIST
These victories do not usually come because we have no problems, but through the very problems Satan designs to defeat us, God turns them around for our good. So, each of the problems that God allows in our lives is really an opportunity for God to work miracles. In God, they are not stumbling blocks but stepping-stones. He does not want us to just overcome temptations and problems, but through them, He wants to give us blessings and victories.
We must realize that there can be no victories without battles, no mountaintops without valleys, no overcoming without obstacles, and no healing without sicknesses. So, only as we keep our faith in Christ will we be “more than conquerors.”
Next month, we will begin looking in the Bible at specific examples of when this happened in peoples’ lives in the Bible.
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