³⁷But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

God’s love is powerful. How could we possibly fully understand that? Our concept of His love deepens when we go through our greatest trials. Like an athlete grows stronger by lifting heavier weights, so Christians grow stronger as God puts more weight on us. This weight comes in the form of trials and challenges to our faith.

Some may live strong Christian lives until tragedy happens, when their faith is rattled. They begin to question God’s goodness, His sovereignty, His love. But through it all, genuine faith leads them to see and have fellowship with God in the midst of their trial, like the fourth figure walking in the furnace with Daniel’s three friends (Dan 3:24-25). They discover God in a new way like Peter did walking on the water in the midst of the storm (Matt 14:29-31). At the darkest, most despondent time for the disciples, the interval between Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, they must have been contemplating the struggle of faith. How could they deny the reality of what happened to the One for whom they had left all?

Image the absolute jubilation in their hearts upon seeing Jesus afterward. I can imagine them thinking, “He did it! He not only conquered the winds, healed the sick, made the blind to see—but He conquered the worst that life and the religious leaders could throw at Him. He conquered suffering, rejection, abandonment (even by us) and death. He conquered it all! He’s risen!” No wonder, with the Holy Spirit’s help, Peter and the others were able to boldly stand before the Jews and boldly, courageously accuse them: “[T]his Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death” (Acts 2:23). Peter was a follower of the One who overcame death; he could overcome anything that life and the religious leaders could throw at him.

And the disciples became overcomers, those who could overwhelmingly conquer anything that might oppose them. How? They were convinced that God loved them, and through this love, had sent them on a mission. That mission was to proclaim that God so loved the world that He overcame death to free us from the fear of death, so that we too, would overwhelmingly conquer death. Adam’s fall is completely negated in the cross, not only spiritually but also practically, through our overwhelming victory over the curse of sin. And we can be assured of this, because nothing can separate us now from the love of God!

Lord, I am a conquerer of life because of the magnitude, permanence and perfection of Your love.