Conquerors

Romans 8:35,37 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

I've read this in a different way for the first time today. The passage acknowledges the fact that in life we go through trouble and hardship, but in all these things we are more than conquerors. More than conquerors. I like that. Let me explain by way of an analogy.

I've been watching alot of Olympics lately. What makes for good, exciting television are the really close finishes/matches. Michael Phelps' fingernail finish inching out his competitors by 1/100 of a second; Shawn Johnson winning the gold medal on the beam by 0.2 points. All great atheletes but that's not what it means to be "more than conquerors". China sweeping the medals at diving and Table Tennis, Usain Bolt winning the 100m and 200m races, by a comfortable margin. That's what it means to be more than a conqueror. It means dominating, succeeding with more than enough energy to do the victory lap.

So apply that to our lives and the tough situations that life throws at us. In Romans, God is saying that we don't just come out of the situations, with scrapes and bruises and barely breathing. God says we are more than conquerers through Christ, and promises that we will triumph over the situations, come out of life's hardships standing proudly with smiles on our faces.
Perhaps the best way I have understood this in my life is in the area of prayer. Very often, God doesn't just answer my prayers, He answers in incredible ways I didn't even think of. I prayed for a job, and He gave me good pay, great colleagues, learning opportunities and great benefits. I prayed for an opportunity to return home to Singapore, and He gave me the perfect trip home, reconnecting with friends, getting spoiled by mum and dad, eating great food. I prayed about coming to college, and He gave me a good education, lifetime friends, a church to grow at. I really could go on.
And I guess the point of all of this is to remind us all about prayers, specifically, unanswered prayers. God knows exactly how He's going to answer those prayers, prayers of healing, prayers of overcoming difficulty, prayers finding that right partner in life, prayers for other people. God will answer those prayers in a big way, in a way that will reflect the fact that we are "more than conquerors" because He is on our side.

I know its hard and improbable and the odds seem stacked against us, especially those prayers we've been praying for years. But I'm reminding myself daily to just keep praying, and to have faith that God delivers on His promises. He always has, and He always will.