More Than a Conqueror (Romans 8:37)

Romans 8:35, 37: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?… Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us."

"More than a conqueror" sounds like a phrase for winners, the people whose lives are going great. But look at the list Paul gives right before it: trouble, hardship, persecution, hunger, poverty, danger, and violence. Paul wasn't writing to people with easy lives. He was writing to people who were suffering.

"In all these things," not instead of them

Notice the key phrase: "in all these things." Paul doesn't promise believers will avoid hardship. He says that right in the middle of it, we're more than conquerors.

Being more than a conqueror doesn't mean you never struggle. It means struggle can't defeat you, because nothing can separate you from the love of Christ.

What makes us "more than" conquerors?

A conqueror wins the battle. "More than a conqueror" suggests something even greater: not only surviving, but coming through with something gained. In Christ, trials don't just fail to destroy you; they can actually be used to grow you, deepen your faith, and display God's glory.

And notice the source: "through him that loved us." The victory isn't your strength. It's His love.

The victory is already won

1 John 5:4: "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."

2 Corinthians 2:14: "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ."

Jesus defeated sin and death at the cross and the empty tomb. As a believer, you don't fight for victory. You fight from it.

Living as more than a conqueror

• Stop measuring victory by circumstances. Ask instead: Am I still held by God's love? (Yes.)
• Speak Romans 8:37 over hard situations out loud.
• Look for what God is growing in you through the struggle.
• Remember the enemy is defeated. He can make noise, but he can't separate you from God.

That's the spirit behind our bold Not Today Satan Collection, and our Christian gym tees are a great reminder in the hard workouts of life, too.

A prayer

Lord, I'm in the middle of a hard season. Thank You that nothing can separate me from Your love, not this trouble, not this fear, not this loss. In all these things, I am more than a conqueror through You. Help me fight from victory, not for it. Amen.