THANKS, LORD, FOR THE VICTORY
1 CORINTHIANS 15:55-58 NKJV
55 “O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
You can almost hear the defiance in verse 55. Death, where is your sting? Hell, where is your victory?
Of course, these are rhetorical questions. Don’t expect death and hell to have an answer. We are the ones with the answer for death and hell. Our answer is Jesus.
I like verse 57 a great deal. We can give thanks to God for giving us the victory over death. But we can also give thanks to God for giving us victory over sin. And sickness. And fear. And depression. And any other negative thing that is generated from the kingdom of darkness. Thanks, Lord, for the victory!
When Jesus defeated Satan, He did that for us. No longer are we under the dominion of darkness. We have been transferred into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son. Thanks, Lord, for the victory!
And now that we have been given the victory through Jesus, we can be steady and fixed in our faith. We can be consistent and proficient in the work of the Lord. Knowing that whatever we do for the Lord is not a fruitless endeavor.
What is intriguing to me is the correlation between having been made victorious in Christ and doing the work of the Lord. As if now that we are on the winning team, we need to act accordingly. We are not trying to survive the ups and downs of life. We have been made victorious. Thanks, Lord, for the victory!
APPLICATION:
Thanksgiving is one of the best ways to make the victory we have in Christ more tangible. When we are thanking God, we are accomplishing things. This is more than being polite. This is declaring what God has done for us in Christ. This is giving glory to God for our victory. Thanksgiving indicates we have received something. We did not gain the victory on our own merits or through our own efforts.
And here is an important key. We give thanks before we see the victory in the different areas of our lives. We are thanking God for victory over fear or bad habits before we stand clear. This is the principle of faith. We believe it before we see it!
And we want to look for ways that we can be involved in the work of the Lord. Some things we do in life are important. Some things are a waste of time. Some things have a toxic effect. But whatever we do for the Lord is important, productive, and eternal. What we do for Him is never a waste.
He paid the price to make us victorious, and we can say thanks with our mouths and our hands.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank You for the price You paid in order to make me victorious over death, hell, sin, sickness, and fear. What can I do for You?