Each year on June 18 the great Battle of Waterloo is recalled in what is now Belgium. On that day in 1815, Napoleons French army was defeated by a multinational force commanded by the Duke of Wellington. Since then, the phrase to meet your Waterloo has come to mean to be defeated by someone who is too strong for you or by a problem that is too difficult for you.
When it comes to our spiritual lives, some people feel that ultimate failure is inevitable and its only a matter of time until each of us will meet our Waterloo. But John refuted that pessimistic view when he wrote to followers of Jesus: Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith (1 John 5:4).
John weaves this theme of spiritual victory throughout his first letter as he urges us not to love the things this world offers, which will soon fade away (2:1517). Instead, we are to love and please God, And this is what he promised useternal life (v. 25).
While we may have ups and downs in life, and even some battles that feel like defeats, the ultimate victory is ours in Christ as we trust in His power.
There is an interesting connection between being born of God, keeping His commands, and overcoming the world. If we are children of God, then we will keep His commandments, and this is how we overcome the world. This suggests that the world is against Gods commands and that to be born of God is to be separate from the world.