Unemployment, part 3

Continuing my trend of posting pictures of my food supply, I have now shared a photo of my breakfast cereals. I found out that generic cereal from Dollar General costs about 80 cents less per box than generic cereal from Target. I also discovered brand-name cereal at Dollar Tree that is sugarless and flavorless, but, well, it's fiber that only costs $1 per box. Score!

I also discovered clearance chocolate at Big Lots for 95 cents and 60 cents per bar, and I found outdated basketball chocolate on sale at Target for 51 cents per package. She shoots, she scores, and the crowd goes wild! Aaaaah!

See? I'm more than a conqueror.

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: 'For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.' Yet IN ALL THESE THINGS we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." (Romans 8:35-37, maniacal emphasis mine)

Many years ago, the pastor of my church where I went to college explained the "more than a conqueror" part of the above passage. He said that if a basketball star were to score lots of baskets and win the game, and then he takes home a winning paycheck, he's a conqueror. Then after he gets home and his wife takes his paycheck and goes on a shopping spree, she's more than a conqueror. I like this interpretation.

Basically, the pastor meant that Jesus won the game. The ball swished inside the basket, the crowd went wild, the buzzer buzzed, game over, it is finished, Jesus is The Conqueror. Nobody will ever be able to beat Him. He's the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Firstborn of all creation, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. He's it. He's The Conqueror.

But then He comes home and brings home the spoils to me. That makes me more than a conqueror. I didn't have to work for His "paycheck." (I wouldn't have been qualified to earn it, anyway.) All I have to do is receive it, and then I get to spend it. I've got it made. This is the life. Yes, this is the abundant life.

Something that has been highlighted for me recently in Romans 8 is that "in all these things" phrase in verse 37. In context, I don't think this verse is just saying, "Yay, I'm more than a conqueror, the end, roll credits, join us next week when Jesus will beat the crap out of the principalities in your area, check your local listings for time and channel." In context, I think this verse is saying, "When life sucks, I'm more than a conqueror."

I think Romans 8 is saying that in tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, and sword, I'm more than a conqueror. When I'm jobless, I'm more than a conqueror. When I'm excruciatingly lonely, I'm more than a conqueror. When a distant relative hunts me down and gives me a guilt trip for trying to obey God, I'm more than a conqueror. When my tithe decreases to 50 cents, I'm more than a conqueror. When I feel uncovered and don't know where to step, I'm more than a conqueror. When I hear a strange knock at my door and I wonder if I should answer it, I'm more than a conqueror. When my enemy puts dangerous suggestions into my head and tries to invisibly cloak them in my own thoughts, I'm more than a conqueror. Because Jesus won. I'm provided for. I'm wanted. I'm understood. I'm given an infinite supply of everything I need. I'm covered and protected. I'm safe. I'm shielded.

When I'm placed in a situation where rejection is imminent (e.g., a jobhunt), I'm more than a conqueror. Just because I've been very familiar with rejection during my life doesn't mean it's all I'm going to ever know. Even if nobody were to ever hire me on this earth ever again, God will always have work for me to do, even in heaven. He will hire me, and He is always going to be the perfect Boss, anyway. Nobody can ever touch Him.

When I feel completely forgotten (which tends to happen if you're a human who lives among other humans), I'm more than a conqueror. Just because I've been very familiar with neglect during my life doesn't mean it's all I'm going to ever know. Even if nobody were to ever acknowledge my existence or remember me or favor me on this earth ever again, God will always keep His eye on me. He thought me up because He wanted me. He created me because He wanted me. He sustains me because He wanted me, and He is always always always always always going to want me, forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever Amen, infinity.

When unemployment stares me in the face (which it has done in my past, and not just with me), I'm more than a conqueror. Just because I've been very familiar with poverty during my life doesn't mean it's all I'm going to ever know. Just because I grew up with a man who couldn't find a job with his doctorate degree and who sat on his butt watching It's a Wonderful Life repeatedly on our VCR while he sank deeper into depression, anxiety, and self-pity doesn't mean that I have to grow up to become him. Just because I've known what it's like to be on the brink of bankruptcy doesn't mean I'll become bankrupt. Life is not a Monopoly game. You don't fail by giving up, handing over your small-dollar play-money bills, and conceding defeat so that you can stop playing the game. No. I don't have to do that. I can follow The Conqueror. He doesn't play games. He plays for keeps. He plays for real. He IS life. He gave me two hands that know how to work. He gave me a brain that knows how to think. He gave me a heart that knows how to beat. He gave me emotions that know how to feel. He gave me self-control that knows how to manage all of the above. He's got this. I've got this. I've got this because He's got this. I'm following Him, I'm holding on to His hand, I'm letting Him carry me, I'm dancing with Him, and we're going to keep waltzing through this crazy thing called life together.

Score!