More than Conquerors
Psalm 73;
Romans 8:31-39
"...in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."
(Romans 8:37)
One of the most pervasive and troubling questions we find both in Scripture and in our own lives is why God allows believers to suffer. In Psalm 73, Asaph describes seeing unbelievers prosper while genuine believers suffer. The fundamental question behind that struggle is: How could a just God allow the wicked to prosper and the righteous to suffer? Should we interpret our sufferings as evidence that God either cannot or will not come to the aid of His people?
Perhaps you've asked that before. Or maybe you're asking it in the midst of a trial right now. If so, the image of "uber-conquerers" is for you. At the end of Romans 8, Paul declares that because God has given us His Son (the greatest gift imaginable), our present sufferings cannot possibly be evidence of God's displeasure with us. Much more, our worst enemies must become servants of God's good purposes for our lives. It certainly won't always feel like good is being accomplished. But nothing will ever separate us from God's love.
INSIGHT
"God's greatest gifts are often wrapped in our most difficult circumstances."
(Craig Mercer)
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Ezekiel 33-34
Psalm 147
1 Timothy 3-4
Psalm 73;
A psalm of Asaph.
1 Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.
3 For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 They have no struggles;
their bodies are healthy and strong.[a]
5 They are free from common human burdens;
they are not plagued by human ills.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
they clothe themselves with violence.
7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity[b];
their evil imaginations have no limits.
8 They scoff, and speak with malice;
with arrogance they threaten oppression.
9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
and their tongues take possession of the earth.
10 Therefore their people turn to them
and drink up waters in abundance.[c]
11 They say, "How would God know?
Does the Most High know anything?"
12 This is what the wicked are like—
always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.
13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
and have washed my hands in innocence.
14 All day long I have been afflicted,
and every morning brings new punishments.
15 If I had spoken out like that,
I would have betrayed your children.
16 When I tried to understand all this,
it troubled me deeply
17 till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny.
18 Surely you place them on slippery ground;
you cast them down to ruin.
19 How suddenly are they destroyed,
completely swept away by terrors!
20 They are like a dream when one awakes;
when you arise, Lord,
you will despise them as fantasies.
21 When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,
22 I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.
23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
27 Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
28 But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds.
Footnotes:
a. Psalm 73:4 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text struggles at their death; / their bodies are healthy
b. Psalm 73:7 Syriac (see also Septuagint); Hebrew Their eyes bulge with fat
c. Psalm 73:10 The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.
Romans 8:31-39
More Than Conquerors
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."[a]
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Footnotes:
a. Romans 8:36 Psalm 44:22
b. Romans 8:38 Or nor heavenly rulers
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