Joyful Conquerors in Chrisrt

Rom 8:35-39 NKJV

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:  "For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."  Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I started off with this verse because we should know there is nothing we can think of that will separate us from God’s love. Even when we decide not to accept his love, it does not stop it from existing.  It does stop it from helping us. We only acquire what we are willing to receive. Once you accept Christ you have God’s full love and access to everything else as an adopted child of God.  Jesus conquered death and took the keys of hell. With him nothing can defeat us. 

Wait! What about all the bad stuff? Sure bad things are going to happen.  We live in a fallen world due to the original sin of pride. However, you can either stick with Christ to overcome them or chose to give up on him due to a setback. In the end, eternity is where our eyes should be and the joy of our salvation to have access to that should help us through the ups and downs of life.

I’ve dealt with divorce, layoffs, financial ruin, and a chronic disease since I accepted Christ. Some of these things happened due to not living life correctly as God intended. I didn’t know better. But after accepting him, this joy is my strength to face anything and keep on marching. Sure my multiple sclerosis slows me down, but I still go to church, volunteer to do things, and it definitely doesn’t stop me from writing and talking about God.  I know healing is mine and I’ve even seen improvement in my MRIs. It is not IF he will heal me, it is WHEN. I take joy in knowing God’s promises are true.

Isa 12:2-3 NKJV

Behold, God is my salvation,

I will trust and not be afraid;

'For YAH, the LORD, is my strength and song;

He also has become my salvation.'"  

Therefore with joy you will draw water

From the wells of salvation.

Notice how the two verses are linked.  Faith always produces joy. Trust in God produces courage.  If we know that God has granted us forgiveness of sins and the gift of his everlasting life, we will rejoice, and the joy of the Lord will be our strength.  If God is for us, nothing can be against us.  (Note on Isaiah 12:2-3 by Ray Comfort in the Evidence Bible). I like how Ray summed this up.  This is how I feel even when my body hurts the worse and I actually do have to cancel going places. If I can’t go do one thing, I can definitely find others to do for Christ.

Whatever you are facing, know that God loves you. Our joy in knowing we are saved through Christ is part of our conquering strength. We have nothing to fear, not even death. Keep clinging to God even if you think you have nothing left to lose and nowhere to go. He will show you what to do and be your strength.