For the past two weeks, I’ve been sharing thoughts and scriptures on the theme of identity. Week one we looked at how we are called to be God’s messengers and representatives to the world (ambassadors), and last week we saw that God masterfully designed us to do good works in His name. This week, I want us to think about a pretty challenging topic, and that is one of overcoming difficulties.
As the year 2018 comes to a close I am reminded of the many challenges that have come my way in 2018. On April 19th the country where our family serves erupted into socio-political chaos that resulted in over 500 deaths, thousands of injuries, extreme transportation difficulties, and food and gasoline shortages. Personally, this situation created one of the greatest challenges I have faced in my life. In June our family decided it was best for my wife and children to spend a year in the States to wait out the crisis. Try as I might, I simply could not shake God’s calling to serve the people here in Nicaragua. Therefore we made a decision I never dreamt we would: we decided to live in two different countries for a year. Before I go further, let me just say I don’t necessarily recommend this course of action! We did this because we felt 100% certain God was calling us to do it in this very unique circumstance. But, it certainly has not been easy. There have been definite struggles here in Nicaragua, and being apart from my family has been far from a picnic. As I’ve gone through all of this I’ve taken real solace from the following verses:
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. Romans 8:35-37
First of all, no matter what challenges any of us encounter God’s love is always there. Nothing can take God’s love and presence away from us. I have had to lean on that love so much these past six months, and I’m here to tell you God’s sustaining love is a real thing! Second, the gift of eternal life God gives us can never be taken away. The ultimate victory over death, that gives us the gift of eternal life, has already been won once and for all by the ultimate conqueror, Jesus. Finally, if you look at the original Greek to be more than conquerors means to be overcomers. It means to not only succeed in the tasks we are doing but to overcome the challenges along the way. God calls us to be overcomers when it comes to following and serving Him. He understands that our life will not always be easy and that we will face many challenges as we follow and serve Him. Yet, he has ensured that we can overcome the challenges of the world by Jesus’ death on the Cross.
