More than conqueror.

The events of this rainy winter Sunday brings to mind one summer night a few months ago. We were at camp Tahkodah and Tony was doing our night devotional for the older boys and girls. The text was Romans 8, especially the latter end of the chapter. The book of Romans has become one of my favorite books of the Bible. People often find it too hard to understand, but I love the way Paul writes and the way his mind works.
For the entire text and a much better version, see your Bible.
But here are some of my favorite passages of chapter 8:

• "The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. " Rom 8:16-18 This reminds me that even though I am a believer and belong to Him, there will be trials while I walk on this earth, guaranteed. Paul says "provided we suffer with him", but that suffering is not in vain since he adds that this suffering will allow us also to be glorified with him, and what a glory it will be. There is no way we can imagine but Paul, through the inspiration of the Holy spirit, knows that any suffering that we go through on this earth will be negligible in comparison to what we will be blessed with on that last day, if we are found faithful. 
• "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Rom 8:26-28 I have found out through life and through trials, that often what I want is not always what is best for me and God usually has something much better in mind. When I am just at a loss for what to do, I simply pray for God to work it out according to His will and then patiently wait on His perfect timing. I do not wait idly. I just busy myself with what He will have me do that day, and the next, and the next,... striving everyday to be what He wants me to be, striving to seize the opportunities that He gives me while trying to avoid too many distractions.
• "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" Rom 8:31-32 God takes care of us. He takes care of His children. Even our trials have purpose. He brings us through them to fashion us into who He wants us to be. He already has paid the ultimate price for us, if He did not spare what was most precious and perfect, how then can we say that he would keep us from anything that would benefit us?
• "...Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Rom 8:34-39 And this was the text that Tony was using in our devo that night, "we are more than conquerors". More than winners? A concept hard for us to grasp at times in this world of winner takes all. What does it mean to be more than a winner, more than a conqueror. Not only can we conquer our weaknesses, our failures, our carnal self, we can obtain a victory that is greater than simply vanquishing what causes us trouble in this life. Our reward is greater than our effort because we have Christ who died for us, and God who loves us. And nothing can separate us from the love of a God that gave all for us, we who clearly do not deserve it. Nothing in this life can come between us and God, no tribulation, no persecution, nothing. Except maybe ourselves. We are the only ones that can remove ourselves from God. But what a foolish decision that is, to seperate ourselves from such a love.

To end it, I must mention that Paul quotes Psalm 44. I love to read the Psalms, they comfort me and remind me that others too have suffered and made it through. In the Old Testament, God would let persecution come to his children in order to bring them back to Him. So, although it is hard to think of when we are in the heat of the battle, remember that trials and persecutions can bring us closer to God, IF we chose to see it as such.