In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Rom. 8:37)
Expanded Passage: Romans 8:31-39
“I cannot do this!” While I was having radiation treatments for cancer, I was scheduled to speak at a large conference. My strength was totally depleted, and I had no idea how I was going to present the closing keynote address. As I sat on the front row listening to my introduction, I thought those words: “I cannot do this.” To which God seemed to say, “That’s exactly what I needed to hear.”
God promises us victory. When the apostle Paul couldn’t find just the right word to express a truth, he simply combined Greek words. In today’s Scripture, the apostle needed a way to describe the kind of victory believers have in Christ Jesus. So Paul created the word hupernikaó by combining the Greek words hyper and nike.
If you have a “hyper” child, there’s no need for a description. Hyper means “over the top,” “above and beyond.” And we all recognize the word nike from athletic wear. It means “victor.”
So Paul described believers as “over-the-top victors,” those who transcend death and life, angels and demons, the present and the future, any powers, heights and depths, and anything else in all creation.
Suddenly I was filled with “over-the-top” energy for the talk—after which my exhaustion instantly returned. But God provided hyper nike just when I needed it!
Prayerfully seek God’s power to make you an over-the-top victor today!
James N. Watkins is an author, editor, and ordained minister in The Wesleyan Church.
© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
