Victory Sealed!

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors and gain an overwhelming victory through Him who loved us [so much that He died for us]. ROMANS 8:37 AMP

Oh, how we love to claim the promise in the verse above, most times out of  context. We claim victory without understanding the circumstances of the war we are in. The verses before today's extract speak on tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger and sword. Those were the circumstances facing the disciples of Christ at the time. It was not a jolly ride to the  promised land, but one filled with joy all the time, pain sometimes, difficulties some times and trials all the time. I get this distinct impression that God's surest way of helping us grow into a deep understanding of who he is and what he has done is through trials.

Paul's assurance does not come from an ability to deal with life's issues, but from his relationship with God. You don't stand before God and boast about what you have, what you have done and achieved or what you know. You can only stand in the victory that Christ, through his love, has secured for us. It has got to be the same with us. God's presence does not insure us against trials; it insures us permanently against defeat. That's why Paul could call us 'more than conquerors', because the One who lives in us had sealed the victory long before the fight even started.

The victory was sealed long before I was born, when Christ went the way of the cross. Through his blood, which is approved by God as the new way to life, the path of victory, access to the throne of grace, mercy unlimited, hope unashamed have all become open to me. Now, I have a relationship to nurture, a fight already finished, a victory already won, and a hope eternally sealed. His time of favour is here.