The word conquer evokes images of heroes made from the history book, characters larger than life that we could barely estimate whether they were real or pieces of pure fiction. Many of our world’s greatest legends have been turned into images fit for the stage or big screen. Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Napoleon Bonapart have all had stories told about the worlds they subdued to their will. These are the typical characters that our imaginations conjure up when we consider the word conquer. We imagine great empires seen throughout history. Whether it be the British Empire that spanned the globe, or the Roman Empire that sought to bring peace to the world through subduing it with the overwhelming size of its military might.

Within the Empire of Rome we find the people of Jerusalem clamoring for a savior to bring upon a conquering spirit, and lead the people against the might of Rome. As they laid their cloaks and palm branches on the ground they ushered Jesus into the city as a conquering hero. Jesus did come to conquer, but it was something much bigger than Rome, but the people were not ready for it. They expected their version of Alexander and Julius, but they got the Son of God instead. Thus as we look at Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, we are reminded that the Holy Spirit enables us to conquer sin and death because of Jesus’ humility and strength to overcome.

37 No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:37-39 (ESV)

In this text, Paul leads toward an understanding that because of God’s great love for us, we are imbued with the Holy Spirit that conquered sin and death, and continues to conquer evil all around us. It was in accord with the Holy Spirit that Jesus entered Jerusalem to provide a perfect example for us to conquer in a manner that brings glory to God. Jesus leads by example, by the fact that even though the people ushered Him into the city with chants and cheers, Jesus remains humble at His core. We too are called toward humility, and instead of relying on our understanding, we must listen to what God wants from us and block out the cheers from the mobs and crowds leading in a myriad of directions. The Spirit works to inspire us toward working for the glory of God and setting aside any personal gain or glory. When we connect to the Holy Spirit, we can conquer hardship, find salvation, and have an unbreakable connection to God. 

With this connection, the Holy Spirit protects us from harm while empowering us to overcome and conquer the forces of death and destruction. Through the Spirit, we are protected from the seemingly unbearable attacks of the enemy. Through our connection with the Spirit, we are given the Word of God for protection and encouragement. Even when we cannot come up with the words to say, the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf. As Jesus knows, we cannot avoid trials of many sorts in the world, but the Spirit fills us and guides us to overcome these trials. Just like standing in the ocean, we cannot avoid the waves crashing down on us; we cannot avoid trials, but the Spirit sustains us in our needs. Further, the Spirit then takes the strength built in our character during these trials. It allows us to conquer and rededicate ourselves to a brand new understanding of what it means to be victorious and embrace the blessings that arrive despite our circumstances. The Spirit ultimately conquers our hearts.

Through transforming our hearts through the Holy Spirit, we understand that God truly conquers the world through the love of the Almighty God. Once God’s love penetrates our hearts, nothing can pull us beyond the grasp of God’s embrace. It doesn’t mean we won’t get pulled from time to time to distance ourselves because we will constantly be tempted with power and riches, and calamities will rise, attempting to break our will. Still, the Holy Spirit is present to help us respond to it all by conquering them through the love of God found inside us. Even Jesus relied on the Spirit as He approached the crucifixion and asked for the cup to pass; therefore, when negative thoughts and actions tempt us, we can call on the Holy Spirit to help us out of the darkness and guide us toward the light.

The world is hungry for a conquering savior, which is nothing new, as shown in the Palm Sunday narrative. People always seek a strong voice to guide and lead them out of any perceived trouble or inconvenience. The people offer themselves to chant and adorn themselves just as the first-century Jerusalemites waved their palm branches and hailed Jesus as their conquering hero. Similarly, people have welcomed famous despots into power because they spoke the right words. However, people are finicky; whenever the actions or words stray from the original intent, the devotion can turn into darkness in the blink of an eye. On Sunday, they hailed Jesus as their leader, and on Friday, they called for His crucifixion. However, even when darkness seeks to squelch the hope we have in Jesus, the Spirit rises and conquers the darkness and brings light through the love of our neighbor. The Spirit reminds us that loud and bombastic speech might be popular, but we must set it aside and show humility in demonstrating God’s perfect love. The Spirit leads us to follow Jesus’ example by leading with humility and showing compassion to everyone; we show that our hearts have been transformed from dark into light. Through the conquering Spirit found in us, as we ask God into our hearts, we can truly change the world to reflect more of God’s perfect kingdom.

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Published by JRMITCH85

I am often asked what describes you, which is a hard answer because sometimes I move in a thousand different directions. Some call me an engineer, others call me pastor, a few call me captain, some call me friend, others call me dad, and one calls me sweetheart. All of these things are descriptors and are accurate, but they don't fully capture me. My favorite place is in the mountains, enjoying the beauty of nature and God's creation, running and hiking around with my family and friends, and taking photos to cement the memories. However, the people that know me the best know that my favorite thing to do is come up with crazy adventures that push the limits of what our minds and bodies can do. My faith in God is important to me and drives me to look at creation the way I do. Because of my faith, I look at these adventures and running races from Half Marathons all the way to 24 hour races, as well as several Obstacle Course Races, as an opportunity to push the body God gave me as an act of worship. Hopefully, someday soon, I look toward running longer races and bigger adventures. My hope is that humanity can understand that the wild is a gift, and we need to care for it and quit destroying it by the way we live.

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