I watch way too much sports. But, I enjoy the competition. I like watching athletes who have great strength, agility and teamwork demonstrate excellence. The unscripted drama of a game or match brings genuine surprises and suspense. Lately, I’m doing better to not let sports dictate my schedule. Often, I record sporting events, and avoid anyone telling me the score, so I can fully enjoy the game when it’s convenient. For example, the 2022 World Cup final began at 11am on a Sunday morning, so I recorded it. After worship, I had a leisurely lunch, cleaned up, and then watched the match. Argentina had already won before I started watching, but since I didn’t know the outcome, I could be just as excited and filled with anticipation as if I were watching the match live. But, no matter how hard I try, there are times when I record a sporting event, and someone tells me the final score before I can watch the game. I can still enjoy the surprise of great individual plays but the suspense of not knowing the outcome is ruined because I know the final score.
At times, life is really hard for us and the people we love. There are times of darkness and hopelessness including divorce, death, illness, financial setbacks, persecution, loneliness, temptation, and other tragedies of living in a sinful, fallen world. It can seem that our enemy is on a winning streak with no sign of losing any time soon. We can become filled with worry, tension, and concern. It can seem like God and His people will never win. But God has repeatedly told us the final score…and He wins!
· God’s people will persevere; protected by Jesus Himself. (Matthew 16 ; John 10)
· Jesus will return and take us to be with Him. (John 14 ; Acts 1)
· There will be a resurrection of the dead to new life. (Acts 24)
· There will be a new heaven and a new earth. (Isaiah 65 & 66 ; Revelation 21)
· We will rejoice at the marriage supper of the Lamb as Christ’s bride. (Revelation 19)
· We will be made fully Christ-like. (1 John 3 ; Philippines 3)
· We will see God face-to-face and be with Him forever. (Psalm 23 ; 1 Corinthians 13)
These are just a few of God’s great promises which should fill us with hope and take away the suspense and anxiety about the future, so our individual moments of darkness don’t stress or trouble us so much because God wins!
As you know, one way to grab people’s attention and start a spiritual conversation is to ask, “if you could ask God one question, what would you ask Him?” I’ve thought a lot about what I would like to know from God directly. In the Bible, God has revealed so much about Himself, about us, about the world, and about the future that there is almost nothing important that He has not already told us. In the struggles of life, I often don’t need more information, but I need encouragement. So I would ask God, “will everything be OK?” I know that God will work everything for our good in a way that is so much better than I can imagine, but it would be a blessing to hear it directly from Him.
There was no darker moment in human history than Jesus’ death on the cross. All seemed lost. The Messiah, the Son of God died. For three days Jesus’ disciples lost all hope in God’s promises. Then Jesus rose from the dead, spent time with His disciples, and hope in God’s promises was restored which changed everything. They were reminded that God controls the final score … and He wins!