OVERCOME AT THE LAST
“Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.” Genesis 49:19
Jacob called for his sons to gather around him. He would pronounce a blessing for each of them before departing this life. The words he spoke of his seventh son, Gad, are recorded in our text. “A troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.” Gad would be subject to the assaults of the enemy; and at times, he would seem to be defeated. But in the end, he would be victorious.
These words clearly describe the journey of the child of God. Gad’s name means “a troop.” From birth, he would be called “a troop.” We too are born to battle, only ours is a spiritual conflict. A war is raging around us. Our enemies are the world, the flesh, and the devil. We cannot afford to ignore these adversaries. They are against God, and therefore, against us. Like Gad, there will be moments and days when we look more like victims than victors. No one wins every battle, every moment of every day. Of Gad it says, “a troop shall overcome him.”
Sometimes we are defeated. There are days when we fail in times of temptation. We have all known the agony of wrong responses and poor attitudes. Most of us have questioned God at some time or resented some part of God’s will. We have said things we have greatly regretted or believed things that were not true. We have doubted God’s promises, and disobeyed His commands, and wondered why He even puts up with us. The question is not, “Will we ever fail?,” but “What will we do when we are defeated? How will we respond when we are overcome?”
It is good for us to remember that we may not win every battle, but we are on the winning side. Jacob said of Gad, “he shall overcome at the last.” We are not to give up in the face of adversity or overwhelming odds. There are times when it seems that the enemy is hurling everything in his arsenal against us. We will know the despair of defeat, but we have been assured the ultimate and final victory. As we grow in Christ and appropriate His promises, we will see great victories. One day this flesh will be replaced with a glorified body, and the Prince of Peace will govern this wicked world. The devil will be bound forever. It could be said about every child of God, “a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.”