More Than Conquerors - Part III
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Romans 8:37 -- “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
FEAR HAS MANY FORMS
Fear is one of the greatest things that Satan uses to try to defeat people. In fact, Satan was the first terrorist (Gen. 3:10). Fear becomes sinful when it keeps a person from doing God’s will. It can come in many forms such as fear of failure, fear of rejection, or fear of punishment.
For example, put yourself in the place of one of the soldiers in the army of Israel who was challenged by Goliath, the champion of the Philistine army. The giant was at least nine feet tall, fully armed, and an experienced warrior. Twice a day for 40 days he challenged King Saul and his army to choose one person to fight him instead of the whole armies of both sides fighting. If Goliath won, all of Israel would be killed or enslaved, and if he lost, then the same thing would happen to the Philistines.
DECISION TO FIGHT
First of all, you would have to decide whether you would fight Goliath yourself. But it would be pretty obvious that you wouldn’t stand a chance against a bigger and stronger opponent. The same would be true of every other soldier. As the impossibility of the situation becomes more and more evident, you become more and more scared.
There is a lot at stake. You are not just thinking of yourself. What would happen to your spouse, children, relatives, and friends? You cannot imagine them being beaten, imprisoned, enslaved, or killed. That would be horrifying. The same things would happen to the entire nation of Israel. You even have nightmares about how bad it would be.
HELPLESS AND HOPELESS
So every time Goliath comes out to defy you, your army, and your God, you panic, and not knowing of anything better to do, you run and hide to escape the shame, disgrace, and embarrassment. You cannot do anything to stop it or even slow it down. You can do nothing to make things better, or even make a difference. You feel utterly helpless, and the situation looks hopeless.
You are continually hoping against hope (Rom. 4:18), calling on God (Jer. 33:3), and asking, seeking, and knocking (Matt. 7:7-11). But instead of things getting better, they are getting worse. You know that God cares even more than you do (I Pet. 5:7), and that He is working (Rom. 8:28) even though you cannot see any results. But it has been 40 days, which seem more like 40 weeks, or 40 months, or even 40 years, and you cannot see or feel a thing. It appears that the inevitable is about to happen.
WHO CHOSE HIM?
Can you imagine this and what the other soldiers felt one day when a young shepherd went out to fight Goliath? Some probably wondered who David was and questioned his ability to fight. Who chose him to fight on the battlefield and determine the fate of all of Israel? He certainly did not look qualified. Again it appeared that all was lost.
So imagine everyone’s surprise when David completely annihilated Goliath. And, even though they had nothing to do with the victory, all of the soldiers of Israel came out of hiding and chased the Philistines to total defeat.
VICTORY IN CHRIST
Is this not a picture of what our Son of David did on the Cross? He totally defeated the world, the flesh, and the Devil and has allowed us to be involved in and have all the benefits of His victory.
So, when we face things that are bigger than we are and appear to be impossible, instead of being afraid, we need to remember that, in Christ, we are more than conquerors!
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