"WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS THROUGH HIM THAT LOVED US." The Apostle Paul is writing this to Church Age believers. What a tremendous statement! Can this be true in our experience? One thing of which you can be sure, God has no favorites. What He promises for one believer is true for every believer. When I was first saved, I thought God did have favorites because of some of the testimonies I heard in church. We heard of "special blessings" some received in answer to their prayers.

My mom was the dearest one on earth to me. I had trusted Christ at the age of 12, but my focus and concern was about her. She was very special in so many ways. She was always there when I needed her with a word of encouragement and always seemed to understand what I was going through. I was able to talk to her about everything. We children were taught to be kind to everyone we met, and to be sensitive to people’s needs. "I would rather be hurt than be the one that hurts others," she often told us.

A valuable experience in our Christian life is learning the many truths in God’s Word. We can never exhaust them. As I grow older, I realize the importance of every statement. When we are told, "We are more than conquerors," we have to realize it is only "through Him that loved us." There is room for only one on the throne of our heart and life. God does not say if it is someone that is special, it is okay. Our focus has to be on Him for this truth to be our experience. We are not free to love Him or serve Him unless we are occupied with Him. To get our ducks in a row, we have to have our priorities right. On January 1, 1956, the physician told my dad, my brothers and I that Mom had less than a year to live. We were a very close family and we decided not to let her know. It seemed easier to deal with at the time to pretend that she was going to be well again. We did not know until after her death that the doctor had told her the truth before he told us. We brought her home and I took a leave of absence to take care of her. The doctor taught me how to give her shots when the pain was severe. Even though she was dying, her concern was for the family. A song that meant a great deal to me at the time was, "Does Jesus Care?" The fourth stanza was especially relevant:

"Does Jesus care when I’ve said ‘good-bye’
to the dearest on earth to me;
And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks--
is it aught to Him? Does He see?
0 yes, He cares; I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares."

My oldest brother used to say, "Don’t feel badly when you make a mistake, just don’t make the same mistake again." I learned, after my mom went to be with the Lord, never to put anyone before the Lord. It does not mean that you love others less, because I love my husband and children dearly, but for the first time you are free to serve Him.

The one person who seems to be a perfect example of being more than a conqueror was Paul. It is hard to believe all the things he experienced in his Christian walk; early in his ministry he was flogged 5 times, beaten with rods 3 times, stoned and left for dead, shipwrecked at least 4 times, imprisoned several times, frequently hungry and thirsty, betrayed by his friends and hunted by his enemies and just before he was beheaded he admonishes us to "Rejoice in the Lord."

When anyone else is first in our heart or life, we will be unstable and tossed to and fro whenever we have a problem. I have known Christians who have never recovered from deep hurt when their mates have disappointed them. God does not want our happiness to depend on how others treat us. He promised, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you." We too, like the Apostle Paul, can be unconquerable when we allow Him to be on the throne of our life.