MORE THAN CONQUERORS
At a funeral many years ago, the widow was greeting mourners with joy and happiness. She was helping friends and family accept the loss of her dear husband who had died days earlier from cancer. Now she was alone but her attitude remained the same; she was as cheerful as ever. It was easy to see God's presence and love flowing through this woman as she went from person to person.
Even during he greatest tragedies, we can be joyful because of who we are in Christ. Since we have placed our trust in him, he gives us his power and strength to conquer what might seem to be an impossible situation. Through Jesus, Peter was able to step out of the boat and walk on the water. Through Jesus, Paul was able to preach salvation to those he once persecuted. Through Jesus, Stephen was able to defend his faith to the Sanhedrin before he was stoned to death.
Unfortunately we often try to do too much on our own. We fail to let Jesus work in and through us. We attempt to overcome sorrow, grief, tribulation, and failure by ourselves. Even our best efforts fall short of giving us any satisfaction or relief. The reason is we are trying to defeat emotions and forces that are much more than we can handle. Jesus, however, is more than able to triumph over any kind of adversity or tragedy. Paul reminds of this fact in Romans 8:37:
"In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."
Through Jesus, we are "more than conquerors." We can be happy in all things because his strength and love prevail in any tragedy.
Swaffield, Bruce C. Devotions for Life: New Ideas from Old Ways. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars, 2013 p. 117.