victory

The Bible warned that there will be unspeakable darkness and a great falling away in the last days before Christ returns, but most of us probably never thought we would live to see a day of moral decay quite like this.

We know that Jesus won the victory for us at Calvary when he defeated death, Satan and the power of sin. The question remaining for believers is, “Now what? I know Jesus won my victory on the cross, but where is his victory for the conflict raging in my life right now?”

When Jesus became your Savior, he made you a new creation but although you were changed, the world remained the same. And because of this, there are powers that align themselves against you — the world, the devil and even your own flesh — warring against your spirit.

When the prophet Elisha was on his deathbed, Joash, the king of Israel, wept aloud that Israel’s great prophetic light was about to go out. He recalled Elisha’s great works of faith and wept, “My father! My father! … The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” (2 Kings 13:14, NIV). Elisha rallied briefly, bringing hope to Joash’s heart. Then the prophet gave the king some instructions: “Go get a bow and some arrows” (13:15).

“My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5). Now Paul was anything but a weak man in the natural; in fact, he was a leader among leaders. He even once declared that concerning works of the law, he was blameless (see Philippians 3:6).

“Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away” (Matthew 27:59-60).

When Jesus was placed in the tomb following his crucifixion, he left the disciples heartbroken and baffled. When the massive stone rolled in front of the doorway to seal the tomb, everyone had a sad sense of finality. After all, Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30), and then he bowed his head and died.

Many Christians are dealing with great obstacles in their lives. It may be a job loss, a stressful marriage, a sick loved one, or a child struggling with faith. But no matter how bleak things may look, God is in the midst of the lives of those who love him and put their trust in him.