Unconquered

"Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word." (Psalm 119:67)

There is a poem by William Henley which greatly inspired former President of South Africa and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Nelson Mandela. The poem is entitled Invictus, which is Latin for unconquered. The author was diagnosed with tuberculosis of the bone at age 12, and at 25, had his leg amputated below the knee in order to save his life. Despite his disability, he went on to complete his education at Oxford, and became a poet, editor, and critic. A popular movie dramatizes the story of Nelson Mandela and takes as its title the name of this poem.

Nelson Mandela's story is very inspiring. It illustrates a principle that is basic to all who would seek excellency in Christ. The principle is that of affliction, and its work in molding man's character. We find that this principle was clearly at work in the lives of Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Daniel, Paul, and countless others. All of these men and women of the Bible endured afflictions such as imprisonment, loss of family and home, rejection by peers, loss of wealth, fear of death, judgments from God, years of hoping, but not seeing, promises fulfilled, and many other things. We see many examples of men and women in scripture who were made better instead of bitter by their afflictions. Despite their hardships, they clung to hope, and ultimately achieved greatness in God because their soul was molded in the furnace of affliction. They certainly are not alone as examples of afflictions work, however. Affliction comes to the godly and the ungodly alike.

Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison, mostly on Robben Island. He was put there by the white minority of South Africa because of his efforts to win equality for all men, black and white, in that country. Rather than letting those years of imprisonment breed a bitter hatred for those who placed him there, he became focused on the one goal that defined his whole life. During one of his trials, he defined his ambition for South Africa when he said, "I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

Four years after his release from prison on February 11, 1990, Nelson Mandela became the first democratically elected black State President of South Africa on May 10, 1994. Rather than ostracize and alienate the white minority, as many of his black comrades wished to do, he worked tirelessly to unite the nation under one cause. He said, "I detest racialism, because I regard it as a barbaric thing, whether it comes from a black man or a white man."

The poem, Invictus, which inspired Nelson Mandela ends with the words,

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

For the Christian, it is Christ Who is the Master of our fate, and the Captain of our soul. We can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us. We will suffer afflictions in our lives, but God will sustain us, and, ultimately, make sense of it all for us. He is forging His character in us, and He has also set the example for us. "For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings." (Hebrews 2:10)

So, Beloved, if you are undergoing afflictions, and hard trials of your faith that you can't understand, know that the Savior has suffered much more than any man for the great love that He had for us. Know also, that, while you can't see it now, God has a plan for every man and every woman, and the afflictions that enter our lives will have a positive outcome in the end. "It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes." (Psalms 119:71) Hold on to your faith, and trust the Shepherd of your soul to perfect His will in you. "But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." (1Peter 5:10) Truly, in Christ we can be unconquered!

"I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me." (Psalms 119:75)