Overcomers in Jesus
by Graham Nuske
As a father of four, and one that has been on a limited income, I have from time to time taken on any job that would come my way. At the end of the day it all comes down to making the budget go as far as you can. Also, as a Christian, I see these extra jobs as gifts from God. His magnificent provision for us. One of the jobs that comes my way from time to time is grave digging. Not something that is for everyone, but something that never really worried me. (must say I was a bit funny the first time) And as one that lives in a small town, this job for me is all done by hand. That's right, all the way to a depth of 7 foot. Not easy work, especially if it is a new grave as the ground is quite hard. Worse if it is the middle of Summer. At the last grave I did, I was sitting on the edge having a cool drink and taking a well earned rest. I was probably at a depth of about 6 foot. As I sat there on the edge, that Scripture that is so often heard at a funeral came to mind. O death, where is they sting. O grave where is thy victory? Corinth‚15:55 Probably the second part of this scripture was the bit that really struck me. grave where is thy victory?
To think that in a matter of 24 hours I would be back filling in this grave (again by hand) with a dead person in the bottom. But what struck me as I thought about this piece of scripture was that all the work that I had done to dig the grace. All the soil that I had taken away, and would bring back the next day to fill in this grave. All of this would all be nothing to God. To the born again Christian this was no problem at all. The world of God tells me, O grave where is thy victory?
Is death something that worries you? Are you confident that you know that you are going to be with the Lord once you die? Does the grave have the final victory in your life?
Jesus' ministry here in earth was two fold. One was to Set the Captives free. In all that He did, this is shown. He healed the blind, set those bound by the devil free. He caused the lame to walk, and even caused the dead to rise. Yet in all these situations, Jesus pointed those who He touched towards Heaven. Re-establishing a relationship between Man and His Father in Heaven. A relationship that had been broken since the fall of Man right back at the start of time in Genesis.
At the start of Jesus' ministry here on earth, after His baptism, Jesus went out into the wilderness where He was tempted by the devil. (Matthew 4:1-11) The devil threw at Jesus all that was at his disposal to get Jesus to falter. He offered him away to get food to overcome his hunger (v:3) He offered Jesus power (v:8). Yet in all this Jesus stood rock solid on the word of God. In this situation Jesus was an Overcomer. If we are faced with situations that seem to be difficult for us, are we like Jesus and stand firm on the promises of God? Are we sure of our position as one of Gods sons or daughters? One of the best ways to be overcomers here is to get into the word of God and find out what the promises of God for us are. To daily sit in His presence and to receive from him. To know especially that the devil is defeated.
When times of trouble come in our life, and they will, it is so easy to throw the towel in and give up on things. As humans we so often look for the easy way out of things. For Jesus in the desert being tempted by the devil, the easy way out would have been to take the food option. To guarantee Himself absolute power by just bowing down before the devil. I mean, all it would take here was a matter of seconds and it would all be over with. Yet Jesus stood firm. He didn't allow the human side of him to overcome him. He overcame the situation with the word of God.