The gospel and the gift of God are structured so wonderfully that the very enemies and forces that are marshaled to fight against us actually help pave our way to the very gates of heaven and into the presence of God. Those forces can be used in the same way an eagle uses the fierce winds of a storm to soar to the sky. At first he sits perfectly still, high on a cliff, watching the sky as it fills with darkness and as the lightning strikes all around him. Yet he never moves until he feels the burst of the storm, and then with a screech he dives toward the winds, using them to carry him ever higher.

This is also what God desires of each of His children. He wants us to be “more than conquerors,” turning storm clouds into chariots of victory. It is obvious when an army becomes “more than conquerors,” for it drives its enemies from the battlefield and confiscates their food and supplies. This is exactly what this Scripture passage means. There are spoils to be taken!

Dear believer, after experiencing the terrible valley of suffering, did you depart with the spoils? When you were struck with an injury and you thought you had lost everything, did you trust in God to the point that you came out richer than you were before? Being “more than [a] conqueror” means taking the spoils from the enemy and appropriating them for yourself. What your enemy had planned to use for your defeat, you can confiscate for your own use.

When Dr. Moon, of Brighton, England, was suddenly struck with blindness, he said, “Lord, I accept this ‘talent’ of blindness from You. Help me to use it for Your glory so that when You return, you may receive it ‘back with interest’ [Matthew 25:27].” Then God enabled him to invent the Moon Alphabet for the blind, through which thousands of blind people were enabled to read the Word of God and thereby come to the glorious saving knowledge of Christ.

God did not remove Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7 KJV). The Lord did something much better—He conquered it and made it Paul’s servant. The ministry of thorns has often been a greater ministry to humankind than the ministry of thrones.

The best steel is subjected to the alternatives of extreme heat and extreme cold. In a cutlery you will notice that knife blades are heated and beaten and then heated again and plunged into the coldest water in order to give them the right shape and temper.

You will also observe a large heap of rejected blades, rejected because they would not bear the tempering process; when put upon the grindstone, little flaws appeared in some that up to that point had seemed perfect; others would not bear the tempering process.

Souls are heated in the furnace of affliction, plunged into the cold waters of tribulation, and ground between the upper and nether stones of adversity and disaster.

Some come out ready for the highest services; others are unfit for any but the lowest uses. Would you be of account among the forces which are working out the salvation of the world? Be still in the Hands of God until He tempers you.

“Stop now!” says the Knife-blade to the Cutler. “I have been in the fire often enough! Would you burn the life out of me?”

But again it goes into the glowing furnace and is heated to white heat.

“Stop hammering! I have been pounded enough already.”

But down comes the sledge.

“Keep me out of this cold water! One moment in the fiery furnace, and the next in ice water. It is enough to kill one!”

But in it goes.

“Keep me off the grindstone! You’ll chafe the life out of me!”

But it is made to kiss the stone until the Cutler is satisfied.

Now see! You may bend it double; yet it springs back straight as an arrow. It is as bright as polished silver, hard as a diamond, and will cut like a Damascus blade. It has been shaped, tempered, and polished; it is worth something.

Be still, and let God temper and polish you, and you will be worth something, too. Allow yourself to be prepared for usefulness. He will give you a post of holy renown if you will let Him fit you for it. Be still in the furnace fire while the Holy Ghost molds and polishes your soul. R. V. LAWRENCE

Faith grows during storms. These are just four little words, but what significance they have to someone who has endured life-threatening storms!

Faith is that God-given ability that, when exercised, brings the unseen into plain view . It deals with the supernatural and makes impossible things possible. And yes, it grows during storms —that is, it grows through disturbances in the spiritual atmosphere. Storms are caused by conflicts between the physical elements, and the storms of the spiritual world are conflicts with supernatural, hostile elements. And it is in this atmosphere of conflict that faith finds its most fertile soil and grows most rapidly to maturity .

The strongest trees are found not in the thick shelter of the fores t but out in the open, where winds from every direction bear down upon them. The fierce winds bend and twist them until they become giant in stature. These are the trees that toolmakers seek for handles for their tools, because of the wood’ s great strength.

It is the same in the spiritual world. Remember , when you see a person of great spiritual stature, the road you must travel to walk with him is not one where the sun always shines and wildflowers always bloom. Instead, the way is a steep, rocky , and narrow path, where the winds of hell will try to knock you off your feet, and where sharp rocks will cut you, prick ly thorns will scrat ch your face, and poisonous snakes will slither and hiss all around you.

The path of faith is one of sorrow and joy, suffering and healing comfort, tears and smiles, trials and victories, conflicts and triumphs, and also hardships, dangers, beating s, persecutions, misunderstanding, trouble, and distress. Yet “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

Yes, “in all these”—even during storms , when the winds are the most intense—“we are more than conquerors.” You may be tempted to run from the ordeal of a fierce storm of testing, but head straight for it! God is there to meet you in the center of each trial. And He will whisper to you His secrets, which will bring you out with a radiant face and such an invincible faith that all the demons of hell will never be able to shake it. E. A. KILBOURNE

This is more than victory. This is a triumph so complete that we not only have escaped defeat and destruction but also have destroyed our enemies and won plunder so rich and valuable that we can actually thank God for the battle.

How can we be “more than conquerors”? We can receive from the conflict a spiritual discipline that will greatly strengthen our faith and establish our spiritual character.

Temptation is necessary to establish and ground us in our spiritual life. It is like the fierce winds that cause the mighty cedars on the mountainside to sink their roots more deeply into the soil.

Our spiritual conflicts are among our most wonderful blessings, and the Adversary is used to train us for his own ultimate defeat.

The ancient Phrygians of Asia Minor had a legend that every time they conquered an enemy, they absorbed the physical strength of their victims and added to their own strength and bravery.

And in truth, meeting temptation victoriously doubles our spiritual strength and weaponry.

Therefore it is possible not only to defeat our enemy but also to capture him and make him fight in our ranks.

The prophet Isaiah tells of “fly[ing] upon the shoulders of the Philistines” (Isaiah 11:14 KJV). These Philistines were their deadly foes, but this passage suggests that they would be able not only to conquer the Philistines but also to ride on their backs to further triumphs.

Just as a skilled sailor can use a head wind to carry him forward, by using its impelling power to follow a zigzag course, it is possible for us in our spiritual life, through the victorious grace of God, to turn completely around the things that seem most unfriendly and unfavorable.

Then we will be able to say continually, “What has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel” (Philippians 1:12).

Early sailors believed the coral-building animals instinctively built up the great reefs of the Atoll Islands in order to protect themselves in the inner waterway.

He has shown these organisms can only live and thrive facing the open ocean in the highly oxygenated foam of the combative waves.

It is commonly thought that a protected and easy life is the best way to live.

Yet the lives of all the noblest and strongest people prove exactly the opposite and that the endurance of hardship is the making of the person.

It is the factor that distinguishes between merely existing and living a vigorous life.

Hardship builds character.

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him (2 Corinthians 2:14).

God wins His greatest victories through apparent defeats. Very often the enemy seems to triumph for a season, and God allows it. But then He comes in and upsets the work of the enemy, overthrows the apparent victory, and as the Bible says, “frustrates the ways of the wicked” (Psalm 146:9). Consequently, He gives us a much greater victory than we would have known had He not allowed the enemy seemingly to triumph in the first place.

The story of the three Hebrew young men who were thrown into the fiery furnace is a familiar one. There was an apparent victory for the enemy. It looked as if the servants of the living God were going to suffer a terrible defeat. We have all been in situations where it seemed as though we were defeated, and the enemy rejoiced. We can only imagine what a complete defeat this appeared to be for Daniel’s friends. They were thrown into the terrible flames while their enemies watched to see them burn. Yet the enemy was greatly astonished to see them walking around in the fire, enjoying themselves. Then King Nebuchadnezzar told them to come out of the fire. The enemy “crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them . . . for no other god can save in this way” (Daniel 3:27, 29).

This apparent defeat resulted in a miraculous victory.

Suppose these three men had lost their faith and courage and had complained, saying, “Why didn’t God keep us out of the furnace?” They would have been burned, and God would not have been glorified. If there is a great trial in your life today, do not acknowledge it as a defeat. Instead, continue by faith to claim the victory through Him who is able to make you “more than conquerors” (Romans 8:37), and a glorious victory will soon be apparent. May we learn that in all the difficult places God takes us, He is giving us opportunities to exercise our faith in Him that will bring about blessed results and greatly glorify His name.

Defeat may serve as well as victory To shake the soul and let the glory out. When the great oak is straining in the wind, The limbs drink in new beauty, and the trunk Sends down a deeper root on the windward side. Only the soul that knows the mighty grief Can know the mighty rapture. Sorrows come To stretch out spaces in the heart for joy.

Notice the little word “in”! We are to honor the Lord in the trial— in the very thing that afflicts us. And although there are examples where God did not allow His saints to even feel the fire, usually the fire causes pain.

It is precisely there, in the heat of the fire, we are to glorify Him. We do this by exercising perfect faith in His goodness and love that has permitted this trial to come upon us. Even more, we are to believe that out of the fire will arise something more worthy of praise to Him than had we never experienced it.

To go through some fires will take great faith, for little faith will fail. We must win the victory in the furnace. MARGARET BOTTOME

A person has only as much faith as he shows in times of trouble. The three men who were thrown into the fiery furnace came out just as they went in—except for the ropes that had bound them. How often God removes our shackles in the furnace of affliction!

These three men walked through the fire unhurt—their skin was not even blistered. Not only had the fire “not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them” (Daniel 3:27).

This is the way Christians should come out of the furnace of fiery trials—liberated from their shackles but untouched by the flames.

“Triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:15 KJV).

This is the real triumph—triumphing over sickness in it, triumphing over death in dying, and triumphing over other adverse circumstances in them. Believe me, there is a power that can make us victors in the conflict.

There are heights we can reach where we can look back over the path we have come and sing our song of triumph on this side of heaven. We can cause others to regard us as rich, while we are poor, and make many rich in our poverty. We are to triumph in it.

Christ’s triumph was in His humiliation. And perhaps our triumph will also be revealed through what others see as humiliation. MARGARET BOTTOME

Isn’t there something captivating about the sight of a person burdened with many trials, yet who is as lighthearted as the sound of a bell? Isn’t there something contagious and valiant in seeing others who are greatly tempted but are “more than conquerors” (Romans 8:37)? Isn’t it heartening to see a fellow traveler whose body is broken, yet who retains the splendor of unbroken patience?

What a witness these give to the power of God’s gift of grace! JOHN HENRY JOWETT

When each earthly brace falls under, And life seems a restless sea, Are you then a God-held wonder, Satisfied and calm and free?

This is one of the greatest chapters in the Bible. If doubt overtakes you, read it. If your sorrows have been too consuming, this chapter has a message for you. If you are weak, it will give you strength. If you are discouraged, hope will be restored by its inescapable logic. Read it often; become familiar with its truths, its reasoning process, its conclusion. Believe it. Live it. Here is not only promised victory, but more than victory!

How can we be “more than conquerors”? The American Indians believed that every foe tomahawked sent fresh strength into the warrior’s arm. Temptation victoriously met increases our spiritual strength and equipment. It is possible not only to defeat the enemy but to capture him and make him fight in our ranks. God wants all His children to turn the storm clouds into chariots.

The ministry of thorns has often been a greater ministry to man than the ministry of thrones. Appropriate this truth.

Face the forces of darkness today fearlessly!

I dare not be defeated Since Christ, my conquering King, Has called me to the battle Which He did surely win.

Come, Lord, and give me courage, Thy conquering Spirit give, Make me an overcomer, In power within me live.

I dare not be defeated, Just at the set of sun, When Jesus waits to whisper, “Well done, beloved, well done!”

Come, Lord, bend from the Glory, On me Thy Spirit cast, Make me an overcomer, A victor to the last.

THE VERSES OF A PILGRIM

“Why didn’t God help me sooner?” This is a question that is often asked, but it is not His will to act on your schedule. He desires to change you through the trouble and cause you to learn a lesson from it. He has promised, “I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him” (Psalm 91:15). He will be with you in trouble all day and through the night. Afterward he will take you out of it, but not until you have stopped being restless and worried over it and have become calm and quiet. Then He will say, “It is enough.”

God uses trouble to teach His children precious lessons. Difficulties are intended to educate us, and when their good work is done, a glorious reward will become ours through them. There is a sweet joy and a real value in difficulties, for He regards them not as difficulties but as opportunities.

Not always out of our troubled times, And the struggles fierce and grim, But in—deeper in—to our sure rest, The place of our peace, in Him. ANNIE JOHNSON FLINT

I once heard the following statement from a simple old man, and I have never forgotten it: “When God tests you, it is a good time to test Him by putting His promises to the test and then claiming from Him exactly what your trials have made necessary.” There are two ways of getting out of a trial. One is simply to try to get rid of the trial, and then to be thankful when it is over. The other is to recognize the trial as a challenge from God to claim a larger blessing than we have ever before experienced, and to accept it with delight as an opportunity of receiving a greater measure of God’s divine grace.

In this way, even the Adversary becomes a help to us, and all the things that seem to be against us turn out to assist us along our way. Surely this is what is meant by the words “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). A. B. SIMPSON

The Bible has a great deal to say about waiting for God, and the teaching cannot be too strongly emphasized. We so easily become impatient with God’s delays. Yet much of our trouble in life is the result of our restless, and sometimes reckless, haste.

We cannot wait for the fruit to ripen, but insist on picking it while it is still green. We cannot wait for the answers to our prayers, although it may take many years for the things we pray for to be prepared for us. We are encouraged to walk with God, but often God walks very slowly. Yet there is also another side to this teaching: God often waits for us.

Quite often we fail to receive the blessing He has ready for us because we are not moving forward with Him. While it is true we miss many blessings by not waiting for God, we also lose numerous blessings by overwaiting. There are times when it takes strength simply to sit still, but there are also times when we are to move forward with a confident step.

Many of God’s promises are conditional, requiring some initial action on our part. Once we begin to obey, He will begin to bless us. Great things were promised to Abraham, but not one of them could have been obtained had he waited in Chaldea. He had to leave his home, friends, and country, travel unfamiliar paths, and press on in unwavering obedience in order to receive the promises. The ten lepers Jesus healed were told to show themselves to the priest, and “as they went, they were cleansed” (Luke 17:14). If they had waited to see the cleansing come to their bodies before leaving, they would never have seen it. God was waiting to heal them, and the moment their faith began to work, the blessing came.

When the Israelites were entrapped by Pharaoh’s pursuing army at the Red Sea, they were commanded to “go forward” (Exodus 14:15 KJV). No longer was it their duty to wait, but to rise up from bended knees and “go forward” with heroic faith. Years later the Israelites were commanded to show their faith again by beginning their march over the Jordan while the river was at its highest point. They held the key to unlock the gate into the Land of Promise in their own hands, and the gate would not begin to turn on its hinges until they had approached and unlocked it. The key was faith.

We are destined to fight certain battles, and we think we can never be victorious and conquer our enemies. Yet as we enter the conflict, One comes who fights by our side. Through Him we are “more than conquerors” (Romans 8:37). If we had waited in fear and trembling for our Helper to come before we would enter the battle, we would have waited in vain. This would have been the overwaiting of unbelief. God is waiting to pour out His richest blessings on you. “Go forward” with bold confidence and take what is yours. “I have begun to deliver . . . . Now begin to conquer and possess.” J. R. MILLER

If ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; . . . those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.

Fight the good fight of faith.—The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, . . . and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

Brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.—I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.—We are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

The Lord is my light and my salvation: whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life: of whom shall I be afraid?

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 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.

My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.

If God be for us, who can be against us?

The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?

Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.

We are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Arise therefore, and be doing, and the Lord be with thee.

Who is like unto thee, O Lord , among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.

Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree.

Being made a curse for us.

O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.

Having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.

We are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

They overcame by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.

But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell: yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven.

None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy.

I will speak of thy testimonies . . . before kings, and will not be ashamed.

That Rock was Christ.—Simon Peter . . . said, Thou art the Christ the Son of the living God. Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.—Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Full assurance of faith. Faith without wavering.—Faith, nothing wavering . . . He that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.—The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom.—We are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.—Your life is hid with Christ in God.

Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

Our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.

Jehovah Nissi (The Lord my banner).—When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.

We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners.—The Lord hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God.—We are more than conquerors through him that loved us.—Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.—The captain of our salvation.

My brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.—Valiant for the truth.—Fight the Lord 's battles.—Be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord , and work: fear ye not.—Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.—Yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.

Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Forasmuch . . . as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

If we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.