By JORDAN GREEN, Editor-in-Chief
Imagine living in a place so far from America that you can only watch football games a month after they’ve happened.
By the time you’re able to see video of the game, you’ve known the score for weeks. But you still want to see the action. So, you wait. And wait. And wait.
This isn’t fiction. This was reality for a friend of mine who lived in Turkey for a time.
He and his family listened to the radio and could hear the game live, but hearing isn’t the same as seeing. Of course, they knew the team won as soon as the game was over. But they were willing to wait weeks to see the video.
When they finally got the video, they were on the edge of their seats. Their team lost the first quarter miserably. But my friend knew the team had already won. Then the team lost the second quarter. Again, he already knew the results.
Then came the third quarter. Terrible again. But that fourth quarter – the final installment – was unlike any of the preceding ones.
The team came back with vigor, winning the game in the final stretch.
My friend and his family were sure of their victory because they knew their team had it before they saw the game played out. So, even though they were practically biting their nails watching the tape, they could rest in the confidence that they were victorious.
Now, we know that football can be fun (for some). But in our lives, we know that there are more concerning, pressing, even frightening issues than the outcome of a sporting event.
Maybe you’re facing one of those situations right now.
Is your hope running low because of some bad news you’ve gotten?
Are you unsure that someone you’ve been wanting to change ever will?
Are you trapped in a pit of sorrow you just can’t seem to get out of?
Do you have a loved one whose health seems like it’s just getting worse? Have you been separated from someone who makes you complete?
Let me assure that you can, and will, have the victory over your problems – even if it’s in the fourth quarter.
In these times, people naturally say things like: “These situations will never get better,” “The world is going down the toilet,” “My loved one will never make it,” “I’ll never recover from this” and, worst of all, “Nobody cares about me or my problems.”
These statements are simply untrue. If we’ll hold out hope even when it seems gone, we’ll find it there. At the end of the rope. When we least expect it.
None of this is what the world will tell you. Worldly wisdom and advice will tell you to sit and dwell on your problems, complaining about them all day long. I’ve done that before. Most of us have, too. We need to ask ourselves: How’s that working out?
Chances are, the answer to that question is: not well. Our worries and fears never make our problems better, but they certainly make them worse. Especially if we let them overtake us.
But we don’t have to. Friends, even in this hour, as our nation recovers from one of the most horrific plagues in history and our world wrestles with evil in Europe, we have victory.
That victory comes through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And we find it all throughout the Gospel.
Think about people like Daniel, who conquered a giant because the Lord was on Daniel’s side.
Then there’s Paul, who was put in prison for his faith. While in prison, the Lord protected Him, and he continued to spread the Gospel even while in prison.
(Spoiler alert: He was freed, too.)
What about Job, who was attacked by the enemy and yet continued to trust that God would restore everything the enemy took from him – and give him even more in return?
And then we’ve got Jesus. If anyone went through hell on earth, it was Him. He was persecuted severely, beaten and ultimately killed. But His father and his Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead, and He’s still alive today. Now that’s what I call victory.
The world has ample evidence even outside the Bible to prove not only that He was alive, but also that He was resurrected. And if you’ll look around, in time, you’ll see that He’s still among us. He’s still working miracles.
I’ve seen people divinely healed, and I’ve seen impossible situations made possible through Christ who strengthens us.
The victory that Jesus had is for you and me. Jesus promises us that we’ll have it if we believe in Him.
In 1 John 5:4, we read: “Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.”
If you’re in need of that victory today, press in. Read the Bible, and learn who He is.
When you get to know Him, and you invite Him into your life, you’ll have more than what you could have ever needed and ever dreamed.
I’m writing this as much for myself as I am for you, Friends.
Victory in your life can be yours today. Say it’s yours, pray it’s yours and believe it’s yours.
To people who haven’t done this, it sounds ridiculous. But when you see God move in, you won’t think so.