But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57

As a sports fan for almost all of my life, I have been disappointed again and again and again. I have a really hard time being un-bias when I watch sports, so I tend to pick a favorite and cheer for them. Sometimes that team or individual wins, but it seems like most times they don’t. Obviously, I am not all that unique when it comes to this and probably most fans would be able to identify with me. What surprises me is that there is always something that pulls us back. We continue to subject ourselves to disappointment time and time again. Maybe every once in a blue moon our team wins the championship, but mostly we end up saying – “maybe next year.” As I reflected on this, it occurred to me that we don’t have to worry about this as Christians. Victory is not something that happens every once in a while, but as followers of Jesus Christ, we have guaranteed victory in several senses.

1. Victory over indwelling sin: “But thanks be to God that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:17-18).
2. Victory over Satan: “he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Also check out Ephesians 6:10-13, James 4:7, 1 Peter 5:9-10.
3. Victory over death and sorrow: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” Revelation 21:4).

These are just a few of the key ways in which we have guaranteed victory as Christians. This victory comes by way of the cross of Christ (1 Peter 3:18, 2 Corinthians 5:21) and we can know with absolute certainty that this victory is ours in Christ. It is ours not because of anything we bring to the table, but because of the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ. May we live in victory until Christ returns and brings the final victory (Revelation 19-22) to pass.