Isaiah tells of "flying on the shoulders of the Philistines" (Isa 11:14). The Philistines were Israel's mortal enemies! But this passage suggest that they would not only conquer the Philistines but ride on their backs to even greater triumphs.
This is more than victory. It is a triumph so complete that death and destruction have been avoided - that our enemies have been vanquished and a plunder of unimaginable value awaits. We can actually thank God for the battle.
We can receive from our conflicts a spiritual discipline that so greatly strengthens our faith that it changes our spiritual character. Temptation is like that. It is necessary to establish and ground us in our spiritual life. Strong winds cause tall trees to sink deeper roots. Our spiritual conflicts are among our most wonderful blessings, and the Adversary is used to train us for his own ultimate defeat. Meeting temptation victoriously doubles our spiritual strength and increases our arsenal.
It becomes possible not only to defeat our enemy but also to capture him and make him fight in our ranks. Another meaning, perhaps, to "In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." (Rom 8:37)
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