Triumphant in Christ

Dear friends,

My writing has been at a standstill after some serious family news. My father, best friend, and hero passed away this past October after almost making a full recovery after a cardiac event. The whole process from him entering the hospital in August 2023 and going home to Jesus Oct 2023 feels like a blur and like any of you who have gone through such grief, I still find myself in a blur or a haze. God’s goodness has held us through it all and we are emerging triumphant through it all because of Christ.

That is what today’s blog topic is: Triumphant In Christ. I pray that wherever you find yourself, friend, you will experience in its fullest capacity the love, compassion, and grace of our wonderful Savior. With Easter just around the corner, what a great reminder that He has conquered the grave and made us more than conquerors in Christ.

May this blog post speak to your heart as it comes straight from mine.

Triumphant in Christ

Definition of Triumphant= feeling or expressing jubilation after having won a victory or mastered a difficulty, elated, joyful, delighted

My heart couldn’t have felt further from “triumphant” as my mom and I drove to say our final goodbye to husband and dad.

“Please just keep trying!” I told the doctor over the speakerphone. “We are almost there!”

In a sorrowful tone, the doctor said, “He is gone. I tried.” His voice broke.

If I could have flown the car to my dad’s side I would have. It was just 60 minutes before that I had talked with my dad on Facetime. He’d told me to expect a call from rehab because they would be giving instructions for him to come home. I knew it was true. We were finally at the last step after over two months of hospital and rehab stays.

Rehab had called. I answered optimistically to the call I thought would inform me my dad was going home. He had gone home, just not the home we were expecting. A pulmonary embolism had gone straight to his lung and caused him no pain but just ushered him straight to Jesus’ arms.

I had never felt so defeated. We had worked so hard day in and day out to help him recover. The last thing I would consider myself at that moment was “triumphant”. But here, months later and still with a raw heart, I can see that in that moment, and every moment before and after, I was/am/ and will be triumphant in Christ.

One of my previous blog posts (when things were still scary but looking better for Dad) Never an Underdog https://melanietalevski.com/2023/09/11/never-an-underdog/ was written from my heart to encourage myself and others who were going through tough days. I assumed we would be “triumphant” with Dad returning home, that we would win. But the truth of the matter is, Dad has gone HOME to heaven and we are triumphant. We are overcomers. We are the winners.

How could you say that? Some might think. Because, when linked with the Savior God, we are never losers. We win no matter what. We expected Dad to come home and we would “win” here on earth. But you know what? We did win! Dad is in the place he has always wanted to be. He is with Jesus. It makes it hard to be sad sometimes when one of the people you love most in the world gets what he always wanted: to be with Jesus, continually in His presence.

So, friend, I want to encourage you that God has equipped you with all you need for life and for godliness here on this earth. No matter what kind of situation you are facing, no matter what circumstances say, no matter how “final” things may be— WE WIN (Thank you for the catchy phrasing Harry Wilson and how you are always faithful to preach this when you come to visit).

It is true!

The whole story of Easter is the story of a people who on their own could not come close to God. They were alienated from God with no way to get to him. No access. No amount of good behavior, sacrifice, or money would lead them to God. No, they needed a bridge… a way back to God, their maker. Jesus came as that bridge. The only one who could bridge the gap between God and his people had to be a blameless, sinless man. The only man who qualified was Jesus. God’s very own son. And he did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but instead humbled himself that we might be reconciled with Father God. Taking the whole of our sins, death, sickness, infirmities, and diseases on himself, he died.

Who, existing in the form of God,

did not consider equality with God

something to be grasped,

but emptied Himself,

taking the form of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

He humbled Himself

and became obedient to death—

even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:6-8

Already that would be a plot worthy of a movie, wouldn’t it? A hero coming to die and save God’s people and reconcile them back. But the story did not end there. No! Jesus himself went to the gates of Hades and took the keys of the kingdom back from the enemy. And he did a bang-up job humiliating and defeating the enemy.

Then Easter morning…..

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. They went in but did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men stood by them in dazzling clothes. So the women were terrified and bowed down to the ground.

“Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” asked the men. “He is not here, but he has risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘It is necessary the the Son of Man be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise on the third day’?” And they remembered his words.

Returning from the tomb, they reported all these things to the Eleven and to all the rest. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them were telling the apostles these things. But these words seemed like nonsense to them, and they did not believe the women. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. When he stooped to look in, he saw only the linen cloths. So he went away, amazed at what had happened. (Luke 24:1-12)

Because He lives we are triumphant now and forever!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,

Because He lives, all fear is gone.

Because He lives I will see my Daddy again.

Because He lives we will never see eternal death.

Friend, take courage— He lives!

And because He lives we are triumphant conquerors in Christ!

We are overcomers.

And do you know what the Bible says about overcomers?

“Every believer in Christ can expect to receive the promises in Revelation made to him who overcomes:

— To be unhurt by the second death (the second death is the judgment of being separated from God and sentenced to hell, as seen in Revelation 20:6, 14; 21:8)

— To receive manna from heaven

— To receive a white stone with a new name written on it

— To rule with Christ in His coming kingdom

— To be clothed in white garments

— To have his name permanently in the Book of Life, never to be removed

— To have Jesus confess the overcomer’s name before the angels and the Father

— To be a pillar in the temple of God

— To sit with Christ on His throne”
https://www.gotquestions.org/to-him-who-overcomes.html

How to become an overcomer:

1. Ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior. https://agapelife.org/next-steps/

2. Romans 12:21 “Be not overcome by evil but overcome evil by good.”

What are you putting into your spirit? What are you reading? Listening to? Watching? What are you allowing to speak into your spirit?

When you overflow with good it drives all evil out. We are truly overcomers in Christ!

So today, may you be encouraged that Jesus Lives! Jesus has Conquered the Grave! Jesus has caused us to be more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. Nothing can take us down or out. We win every time!

My prayer for you: God, we ask that you would take our limited perspectives and flip them right side up so that we may see from your eyes who we are! May we realize the power that was given to us as believers when we accepted Jesus in our lives. May we grasp and understand the fullness of Jesus’ death and resurrection and how it provides hope, healing, and triumph for those of us in Christ. May we tell others the good news too so they may triumph in Christ as well.

Help us to see our circumstances and situations from your eyes. We win every time because we are in you. Thank you for the hope that you give us in this life and in the life to come. Amen.

Enjoy making Easter memories with your loved ones and celebrating the triumph that came to us through Christ!

Until next time,