But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm.
Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Cor. 15:57-58 In the middle of the two verse above is some really important encouragement. Dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Man is that ever needed for today’s world. A person can hardly go a minute without being inundated with negative or even more so, awful news. It is so easy to get discouraged! If you are reading this right now, I would guess you know what I mean. Not only are we disappointed about the wars going on between Russia and Ukraine, and then you have Iran and let me tell you it is is discouraging to witness a group of people that hate America so deeply that they are unwilling to resolve the war we have with them. Oh, if only that were the extent of the things that come our way to disappoint us. We seem to be going along just fine and then all of the sudden we find ourselves in the hospital with some malady that literally threatens our lives. Or we think we have a wonderful secure job with a great luture, only to be outsourced or something to where our jobs are no longer necessary at all! That dear friends is just a little example of the stuff that we face on an every day basis.
But in the midst of all of that and so much more we can gain a little sanity by looking to the scripture and hearing Paul say to us even now, “stand firm.” “Let nothing move you.”
It’s important to get a little context in this scripture also. Right before those words Paul is talking about death and he proclaims something that we always need to remember and that is “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” He said “Where O Death, is your victory?” “Where, O death, is your sting?” Can you imagine someone like Paul standing at the grave of someone he loved dearly and feeling the discouragement and hopelessness that comes from losing someone to death? And then a new reality breaks in. The new reality that has been ushered in with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the one and only Son of God! What is that new reality you might ask? It is that Jesus has conquered death. And consequently, he has conquered all things. Jesus is Lord! And when that reality hits home then we can proclaim to whatever our problems are, the same thing that Paul proclaimed so long ago: “But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!!!
Do you know what that means for those of us who are in Christ? By that I mean those of us who have given our lives to Christ and call Him Lord? It means we are victorious!
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” It means that somehow, someway, someday, we will taste victory over every thing that we are discouraged by today. So, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you! Paul later said in Romans chapter 8 that he was convinced that nothing, neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in “all creation,” will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” That is such good news! Jesus once said in this world you will have troubles, but take heart, I have overcome the world.
Just like you, at times I can get discouraged by this onslaught of things I see or even feel happening in my life, but that’s when I do take heart because my life rests firmly in God’s hands, and I am convinced as well that nothing can separate me from God’s love, and I can truly say: “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through Christ Jesus our Lord!” Dear brothers and sisters, no matter what is happening to discourage you, stand firm! There is a risen Lord Jesus right beside you that will help you to overcome everything even the pain of death!