The Fight is Fixed: Finding Victory in Christ Even When You Feel Defeated

Have you ever felt like you’re losing a spiritual battle? Even though we know Jesus is victorious, sometimes it feels like the enemy is winning. When we’re in the middle of a struggle, it can be hard to remember that the enemy is already defeated.

Paul encouraged Timothy to “fight the good fight of faith,” and today we’re exploring what it means to win even when you feel like you’re being defeated. The truth is, the fight is fixed – the outcome has already been determined.

What Does It Mean When a Fight is Fixed?

In 1995, Mike Tyson fought Peter McNeely in a match that many believed was fixed – the winner was determined before the fight even began. When a fight is fixed, punches still land, the hits still hurt, and the struggle is real, but the victor was already decided before the match started.

This is exactly how our spiritual battles work. As followers of Christ, we may experience the enemy’s punches, and they might hurt, but the winner of the fight has already been determined. Jesus has already won.

The Victory is Already Decided

In Romans 8:31, Paul asks, “What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” This powerful statement reminds us that our victory is already secured in Christ.

Throughout the Bible, we see God’s people overcoming seemingly impossible obstacles:

• Moses and the Israelites faced the Red Sea, and God made a way where there was no way
• Joshua and the walls of Jericho fell not through military might but through obedience to God
• David defeated Goliath not because he was stronger but because God was with him

The pattern is clear: God’s people may appear outnumbered or outmatched, but their victory is secured because they’re in relationship with Him. No one with the Spirit of God is an underdog. If God is for you, who can be against you?

Why Do Christians Still Face Hardships?

We can’t avoid hardships and difficulties because these are often the very things that draw us closer to God. Romans 8 reminds us that God works all things for the good of those who love Him – not by making our lives more comfortable, but by conforming us to the image of Christ.

The path to victory often leads through difficulty:

• Jesus received the crown after enduring the cross
• Through trials we find triumph
• Through burdens we receive blessing

We don’t need to fear anything or anyone who comes against us because the One who fights for us is greater than the one who fights against us.

How Does God View My Past Sins?

Paul shifts from a battle metaphor to a courtroom scene in Romans 8:33-34: “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one.”

Imagine a courtroom where every sin you’ve ever committed is lined up as evidence against you. The prosecutor (Satan) points to all your mistakes, but the Judge (God) declares you “not guilty” because Jesus has already paid your debt.

This is justification – it’s just as if you never sinned. Not because you were good enough, but because Christ paid your debt on the cross.

How Do I Deal With Guilt From My Past?

The verdict is in. If you’ve said yes to Jesus, you’ve been forgiven. Yet one of the enemy’s greatest tactics is to remind you of who you used to be. If he can’t defeat you, he’ll try to discourage and distract you.

The enemy wants to keep you discouraged so you don’t live as if you have victory in Christ. But every time the enemy throws your past in your face, you can respond: “Jesus already died for that. Jesus already paid for that.”

Not only did Jesus die for your sins, but He rose again and now intercedes for you in heaven. While the enemy accuses you, Jesus advocates for you. Every time guilt tries to drag you back, Jesus points to the cross and says, “I already paid for that.”

Stop living like you’re on trial. Heaven’s verdict is in – you’ve been declared free.

What Does It Mean to Be More Than a Conqueror?

Paul declares in Romans 8:37, “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” You’re not just a conqueror who wins a battle – you win the war in Christ. Your victory isn’t secured by anything you did but by what He has already done.

Nothing can separate you from God’s love – not death, life, angels, demons, the present, the future, powers, height, depth, or anything else in creation. God’s love for you doesn’t shift based on your performance. He knew your sins before He invited you into relationship with Him.

How Do I Live in Victory When the World Seems Dark?

The villain is defeated. Even as the world continues to get darker, we have overwhelming victory in Christ. In Him, we’re not barely surviving – we’re more than conquerors.

There will be moments when you get knocked down, but you’re not knocked out:

• Depression may press against you, but it cannot separate you from God’s love
• Temptation may occur, but it isn’t a sign God has abandoned you
• Hardship doesn’t remove you from God’s presence

Paul isn’t minimizing our struggles; he’s maximizing our view of how big God is. The villain is defeated because the fight is fixed.

You don’t have to fight for victory if you’re in Christ. You fight from victory because the victory wasn’t yours – it’s His. And because you’ve partnered with Him, His victory becomes yours.

Life Application

The key truth to remember is that you only share in the victory if you have a relationship with the Victor. If you haven’t surrendered your life to Jesus, trusting in His full payment for your sin, you haven’t experienced that victory yet.

For those already in Christ, embrace the fact that overwhelming victory is yours. You don’t have to continue living defeated because your God is bigger than anything that comes against you.

This week, consider these questions:

• In what areas of my life am I living as if I’m defeated rather than victorious?
• When the enemy reminds me of my past, how quickly do I respond with the truth of what Jesus has done?
• How might my perspective and actions change if I truly believed I am “more than a conqueror”?
• What would it look like for me to fight from victory rather than for victory?

A broken world needs a victorious church – people who, in the midst of difficulties, can shout from the rooftops just how big their God is. There is nothing that comes against you that is bigger than our God. The fight is fixed, and in Christ, you’ve already won.