Topic: Dead or Alive, We Win!
Text: Romans 8:35-39

A generation has passed since God birthed the Nigeria Evangelical Missions Association. Hundreds of leaders, thousands of field workers, and billions of Naira have been invested in this vision. Despite the challenges, we have made significant progress.

In the early days, many young people, including two of my friends, suffered a boat mishap while pursuing frontier missions in a riverine area of Ondo state. Some died, and a few survived. Was this a tragedy or a loss?
Years later, a young British-Nigerian returned to Nigeria as a missionary, despite the allure of a good education and prospects in England. He fell in love and married, and together they served in the Northeast of Nigeria. Tragically, his life was cut short by Boko Haram. Shouldn’t this be counted as a loss?

How can we talk about victory amid such tragedy? The battle has always been fierce and bloody, with garments soaked in blood. Though the enemy has been relentless, our seeming losses are our ultimate gain. We are pre-awarded victory before we step into the battle arena. Romans 8:35-39 reminds us that nothing in the universe has the power to diminish God’s love towards us. Troubles, pressures, and problems are unable to come between us. Persecutions, deprivations, dangers, and death threats are impotent to hinder omnipotent love.

God’s compelling love extended to us is unquenchable. This love has no space between us and Him, no matter the fangs of the fiendish Satan and his cohorts. Dead or alive, we win. Here or there, when all is said and done, we reign.
Our victory is not mere desire or a blunt death wish, but a resolve to see the Son of God get the full reward for the price He paid for all peoples around the globe. We will not lay down our arms until we bring every tribe, tongue, and language on bended knees before the throne.

Soldiering on, we take a nation at a time, one territory after another. We will triumph over everything, for God’s demonstrated love is our glorious victory.

Prayer

1. Pray that you will be sustained by God’s love and find courage in the face of fear.
2. Pray for those who have lost loved ones in missionary service or other Christian endeavours. Pray for comfort and healing for their grief, and that they may find solace in the knowledge that their loved ones’ sacrifices were not in vain.
3. Pray that believers may be fully convinced that nothing can separate them from His love, and that this assurance empowers them to face any circumstance.
4. Pray for a heart that is focused on fulfilling God’s purposes, and for the strength to persevere until His will is accomplished.

Canon Timothy Olonade, PhD
Founding President, El-Rehoboth Global Mission