Defeating all threats . . .

 

When the psalmist wrote that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” he may not have known much about our immune system but it certainly fits that description. When attacked by an outside health threat, it identifies the culprit, then calls in bodily warriors to fight and overcome it. This system is not perfect; it sometimes misidentifies the enemy, sometimes fails to put the right resources to work, and sometimes even attacks itself, but it is nevertheless amazing.

God created for us a more perfect way to OVERCOME another enemy called sin. He, in the person of the Holy Spirit, identifies the threat with a resource called ‘conviction’ and then calls in ‘faith in Jesus Christ’ to overcome that threat and keep us free from the disastrous results of letting sin defeat us.

Because Christ lives in me, I can defeat the temptations that come my way. 1 John 5:4–5 says that faith is my weapon and Jesus is its power:

“For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

We also have victory over Satan in this life, conquering him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony. The battles are not over because a lifetime is involved learning that we cannot do this by ourselves, nor by laws and rules which depend on the cooperation of the flesh — because the flesh is weak and unable. Romans 8:3 says it this way: “For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh.”

Once a person becomes an overcomer of sin through faith in Christ, there is fuller and related realm where Jesus give His disciples an overcoming victory. In John 16:33, He cries out:

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

What kind of tribulation is Jesus talking about? The word He uses appears in many places in the NT. It means “feeling distress or oppression because of physical, mental, social, or economic adversity.” Outside pressures produce anguish and burdens. These pressures can be persecution, tribulation or troubles of various kinds but He is not referring to whatever causes the stress, but the stress itself.

In other words, Jesus never promised us a rose garden — He will not take away the causes of stress but says He will give us peace during it. How is that possible? The answer is about His unique kind of peace — it outshines whatever the world might throw at us! Philippians 4:4–7 describe it:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

In Jesus’ promise then, overcoming is about “being victorious in a struggle” by not letting it throw us off course, or send us into a tizzy, or oppress us. When troubles come, we often pray for their removal, yet God can give us a peace that defies understanding, a peace that is not troubled by storms because it says, “Jesus is in charge.”

As for our battle against sin, Romans 12:21 tells me not to be “overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” for that is exactly how the Lord defeats evil. He overwhelms it with good and doing His kind of good does it for us. His goodness cannot be defeated by evil, just as the light He shines in darkness cannot be overcome by that darkness (see John 1:5).

This is more reason to GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. My victory is assured through faith in what Jesus says. His promises include the marvel that believers who overcome can do so because Jesus lives in us. Because He has overcome the world, we are also able to overcome evil with good, defeat our fear of death, and experience the rewards for overcomers listed in the first few chapters of Revelation. I can do it by relying totally on the Spirit of God to fill me with the power of Jesus Christ in this ongoing battle of life.

On that final day, all enemies will be put under His feet and all resistance will cease. No more darkness, sin, tribulation, death, or struggles with temptation. His overcoming power means He will reign over all forever and ever and all His children will gladly shout, “Jesus wins!”