January 18th | Expecting Trouble, Embracing Victory

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It’s hard to wrap our minds around this kind of “super-victory.” Yet as we anticipate trials in this life, remember: the reward for faithful endurance far surpasses any earthly trophy.

Jesus spoke plainly in John 16:33: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

He didn’t sugarcoat it. Trouble is coming. Persecution, hardship, opposition—these aren’t surprises for the follower of Christ. In fact, 2 Timothy 3:12 confirms it: “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

We shouldn’t be shocked when trials arrive. Instead, we reframe them through God’s truth and live out godly principles in the midst of them.

Paul echoes this reality in Romans 8:36-39, quoting Psalm 44: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” Yet he immediately pivots to triumph: “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 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.”

Suffering has always marked the people of God. When Paul wrote Romans, the early church in Rome consisted of perhaps five small house churches—Jewish and Gentile believers meeting quietly, often in secret, to avoid Roman suspicion and persecution. The empire saw Christians as weak, subversive, and expendable. Paul wrote to strengthen them: Expect pushback, but know your true identity.

What does it mean to be “more than conquerors”? Some translations say “victorious,” but Paul goes beyond that. A conqueror wins a battle. To be *more than* a conqueror means victory that transcends the world’s scorecard—victory that God grants even in apparent defeat, turning suffering into glory and separation into unbreakable union with His love.

It’s hard to wrap our minds around this kind of “super-victory.” Yet as we anticipate trials in this life, remember: the reward for faithful endurance far surpasses any earthly trophy.

Tomorrow night, January 19, the College Football Playoff National Championship will crown a champion as the University of Miami Hurricanes face the Indiana Hoosiers at Hard Rock Stadium. Fans will cheer wildly for that moment of glory—titles, rings, bragging rights. It’s the pinnacle of what the world calls “winning.”

But even the greatest earthly victory pales next to God’s eternal one. The confetti falls, the season ends, but the crown we receive from Christ endures forever. We expect tough times on the journey—not to crush us, but to refine us. Through Christ, who has already overcome the world, we press on toward the ultimate prize: the unfading trophy of His approval and the unbreakable bond of His love.

Today, whatever trouble you face, take heart. The world may label you weak or defeated, but in Jesus, you are more than a conqueror. Nothing—absolutely nothing—can separate you from God’s love.