Triumph

10/24/2020

2 Corinthians 2:14 “Now thanks be to God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ.”

What does it mean to triumph in Christ? One answer I got when I did a mini-poll was, “To be victorious in the eyes of the Lord. When you have been given a challenge, you conquer it in a godly manner.” Another answer was, “You are following Christ’s commands and examples in your daily life.” I have to be honest: for me, I feel triumphant in Christ when He helps me keep it together during the day and not go into the spiral of OCD brain. If I am able to witness to someone, help someone, or comfort someone, it is even better. Spending extended time with Jesus in study and prayer is the ultimate triumph. If all three of these happen, it is a glorious trifecta of triumph in Christ.

Chambers speaks of triumph being in a person’s ability to be able to maintain God’s point of view. He writes, “The viewpoint to maintain is that we are here for one purpose only, viz., to be captives in the train of Christ’s triumphs.” Now that is a train in which I want to stay captive. He goes on, “We are not in God’s showroom, we are here to exhibit one thing—the absolute captivity of our lives to Jesus Christ.” That is all day, every day. I immediately feel ill-equipped for such a high task, but there I go again, starting to think it is something I need to do on my own. Will I never learn? It is not my triumph, but Jesus’ alone, and He is the one that leads me if I am obedient. I am never truly alone. I can share His triumph with all those around me by how I reflect Him in my life, no matter the circumstances. It should be evident that I am His disciple, a captive in His train of triumph, by my speech, actions, and thoughts. Even a judgmental eye roll can thwart my being surrendered to God’s viewpoint in the eyes of others.

Chambers puts it best when he writes, “It is a shameful thing for a Christian to talk about getting the victory. The Victor ought to have got us so completely that it is His victory all the time, and we are more than conquerors through Him.” Jesus is my Victory.