Being More Than a Conqueror

It’s taken me a lifetime to fully understand what it means and how to live the victorious life Jesus died to give us as believers. I remember my growing-up-spiritually years. I was a whiny kid and a less-than-confident teenager, a young wife and mother learning the ropes of responsibility. I was a good-doer attending church faithfully and really loved God with all my heart. But, I didn’t have a “conqueror” mindset. As I grew in my personal relationship with Christ, studying His Word and making every effort possible to serve Him wholeheartedly, I came to understand what it means to be “more than a conqueror”. Romans 8:37 says Christians are “more than conquerors” in this world. Maybe that's far from how you feel today, but in Christ, that's who we can be. We certainly need to get that indelibly imprinted on our hearts so that we get it, understand it and become it.

That verse is in response to the Apostle Paul's questions before saying we are “more than conquerors”: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” (Romans 8:35). And, then he replies in Romans 8:37: “NO, in all these things we are MORE than conquerors through Him Who loved us.” Sounds to me like Paul could have been right here with us during our situations today. He tells us we can be more than conquerors in the midst of hardships and right in the middle of a trial. Paul certainly proved it is possible. Being more than a conqueror means whatever the enemy uses to take us out, he fails every time.

It means we stop naming ourselves “forgotten, loser, mess-up, mistreated, etc.” It means we persevere to the other side of the trial and wait, expectantly, for our new name, “more than a conqueror”. When we keep our old names, identifying with our old stories, we make the name-changing process about us. Yet this overcoming process is not about us; it’s about God revealing His name to the world.

When we fully understand that Jesus came to give each of us a life of abundance (John 10:10), then we'll see ourselves as more than a conqueror through Him. All the enemy wants to do is kill, steal and destroy what God wants us to have. He wants to diminish us – make us small-minded and small in spirit so we’ll live a small, frustrated life. Whatever your situation is today, God knows about it. He sees you and hears the cry of your heart. Welcome His overcoming love, grace and power. Live it. Own it. After all, you ARE more than a conqueror through Christ.

Got Fear? Get Love!

Day 28 in this Month of Love – Got Fear? Get Love!

It's quite easy to find FEAR lurking behind every corner. It can smack us in the tummy just after we've said, “What a great day it is!” Or, right after we’ve prayed. Or right after we’ve celebrated a great victory. Maybe a negative medical report came in, or we’ve lost our cell phone, or our car broke down and there’s not enough in the bank to repair it. I’ve been there. I have been literally worried sick about so many things, including my finances, what people thought about me, and what tomorrow would hold for me.

Once upon a time, my husband was my “go to” guy for those things that seemed to overwhelm me. He did a great job of relieving my insecurities and concerns. He was my rock and pillar of strength. He was a man of many talents and abilities. He could fix just about anything, and if he couldn’t, he sure knew who to go for the help he needed. Yes, God was #1 for me, but right up there pretty close to God, was my husband. So what does a girl do when her very-close-to-God guy checks out of this earth and leaves her with facing life by herself? Oh, sweet relief. I know. God becomes her ALL in ALL! She does what she was supposed to have done long before – be her #1 for any and everything that concerns her. Now God is my “go to” Lord and His perfect love has given me all the right reasons to be strong, brave, courageous AND the ability to resist fear. His LOVE is greater than any fear.

1st John 4:18 says that perfect love casts out fear. Maybe Perfect Love should be capitalized, because the only Perfect Love is God's love. God IS Love. If we’re afraid of facing a person or a situation in our life, God’s love can help us put our fears to rest. That verse points out that we should be conscious of God’s love. It needs to more than just a fact from the Bible to us. We ought to be experiencing it daily.

It would be so easy to run away from it all.....but the one with undaunted faith and determination simply RISES above it all and conquers anything that resembles FEAR -- we FACE THAT GIANT -- and aim our sling at its ugly head and declare: I AM MORE THAN A CONQUEROR and I rise above it ALL! After all, my PERFECT One casts out all MY fears.