How to Live Triumphant in this World
The apostle Paul wrote to the saints at Corinth to encourage them in their Christian walk. We find it in 2 Corinthians 2:14 (NRSV) 14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him. Here we find that God is expecting us to walk in triumph, that is, in victory, success, accomplishment, and achievement. He really does want us to succeed.
Some Christians have bought into the lie that says: “Once you get saved you will never have problems again, you will always be experiencing the best of everything”. To the person that believes that, you need to wake up from the dream you’re dreaming and revisit the Words of the Lord— Psalm 34:19 (NRSV) 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD rescues them from them all. And shame on the preacher/person who led you to believe that the Christian life would be a life of ease.
In this verse Paul suggests that the Christian life is a life of conflict. Just to use the word triumph suggests that there is a battle going on. When I read the Bible I find great men of God continuously dealing with adversity and conflict, yet remaining true to God. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, yet later stated that it was God’s will that he ended up in Egypt. He found himself in prison, yet he understood that God even had a purpose in that.
Job suffered the greatest of all calamities with the loss of, not just his wealth and reputation, but the loss of all ten children in the same instant. I can’t think of anyone in antiquity, or in the modern era, who has experienced more devastation than the colossal devastation that job experienced. Yet, despite this, Job finds the way to say--Job 13:15 (NKJV) 15 Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.
We find the apostle Paul in prison and dealing with demons and religious people; those that hated him despite the change in his life that was abundantly evident.
When I look at the words of the writers of scriptures, it is clear to me that the Christian’s life is one that is filled with conflict. Paul told Timothy, 1 Timothy 6:12 (NKJV) 12 Fight the good fight of faith; Peter said: 1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV) 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Paul would later tell Timothy…2 Timothy 2:3 (NKJV) 3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. These scriptures make it obvious to me that the Christian life is filled with conflict.
The Christian life is also filled with triumph; the Lord does not expect us to live beaten down all the time. This doesn’t mean that we are not going to have battles and bad days, it does mean that we are victorious through Him, if we put our confidence in Him, regardless what the circumstances look like. Please notice the words that indicate triumph: Romans 8:37 (NKJV) 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Luke the physician would tell us: Luke 10:19 (NKJV) 19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Paul would later say in 1 Corinthians 15:57 (NKJV) 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Please remember that triumph comes through Him, and not by our own strength. I remind you that—it is “in Him we live and move and have our being”, and without Him we are nothing. He is the one who causes us to triumph. He is the one who makes us more than conquerors, over-comers in this life. It is He that is in us that is greater than he that is in the world.
Paul said: He leads us in “Triumphal Procession”; this is an illusion to the days of Rome when a general would conquer a people and acquire land for the king. If the general’s accomplishment reached a certain level the king would put on a “Parade of Triumph”, in which he and his men would be honored as they strolled through the streets of the city.
Therefore, we understand that when we are going through battles and trials that God has not forgotten us, and people are watching us in the battle. God is receiving the glory when we perform well in the battle, and that fragrance of knowing Him is being spread abroad. It is enticing to other people when they see you holding up under the load and you confess that it is not by your strength, but by the grace of the Living God. They then say, I want that grace in my life as well! Remember what Isaiah said: Isaiah 40:31 (KJV) 31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Michael D. Sanes
Pastor, The Harbor Worship Center
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