Last minute plays...
Like a hail Mary pass to the end zone that would win the game, that kind of last minute play. Those are awesome when it's your team and they win because of it. They are not so awesome when it's the team you are playing against and you lose because of it. That's sports though. You win some you lose some.
That is NOT how it is with God. We have already won! We are the winning team. We had an opponent and he was defeated. So why are we still playing the game? Mostly because we forget. We forget that we have already won. We forget because life is sometimes very similar to those sporting events we like to watch. Without even realizing it is happening, a contest is set up and we find ourselves in a game. Playing for keeps. Pitted against a vicious opponent who cheats whenever possible. We find ourselves in this game, and start to play because it is the natural thing to do. It somehow doesn't surprise us to find ourselves in the game. However, sometimes when we see that last minute play by the enemy our hearts rise up in our throats and we think "Oh Noooooo."
It's a lie. We get scared when we forget that it is already decided in our favor. This game is over. It was over before it started if we actually show up with our whole team. We are already the Champions, my friend. We do go on fighting, but we know the end! So what about those hail Mary passes in the last moments of the game? Sometimes we are offense and Jesus is the quarterback. We win! Sometimes we are defense and the devil is the quarterback. What then? Our defense is the best! That is what then!
It is up to us. We can lose the game if we choose to. We can leave our defense on the sidelines. It makes no sense whatsoever, but people do it all the time. Not me, but other people. My defense is in play here. The formation is tight and each step is a symphony of perfection. This pass will not succeed. It will not score. This game is mine!
Recently I prayed to God and asked for something. It was big and it was special. It meant a lot to me and it was for someone else so it meant a lot to them as well. I was blown away by how quickly and how easily God came through with the answer to that prayer. It was a blow out of a game! No doubt. I was on the offense scoring away and the devils defense didn't even show up for the game. It was trip after trip to the end zone. Cha Ching!
The score racked up quickly and easily and now that the clock is just about to run out the other team has shown up. There has been some comeback by the opposing offense. It's actually a game now, and although none of the previous points I scored can be taken away from me, there is a last minute hail Mary soaring through the sky as I write these words. It was not thrown by MY quarterback. I am on the defense here. I am ahead, but not by enough and this would seal my loss!
So what does that mean to me as I watch that ball soar through the air and threaten all that I have been rejoicing over for the entire game? For me, it means I look to my defense. I have the best defense ever assembled! I have the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. There is nothing getting through that defensive line. So is it fun to watch that ball soar through the air? No. I can't say that it is, but I can count on my defense. I can trust it. Just as my offense was perfect, my defense will not fail.
There is no surprise in this attack if I think about it. My opponent never quits so why should I expect him to lay down and take the loss. Why should I think that just because I am ahead there will be no fight? That is not very wise. Yes. I have already won this Victory in Jesus, but in this crazy game called life we walk these victories out because our defeated enemy still wants there to be a game. He flails and tosses those hail Mary passes and hopes to win some even though he is a loser.
I am not giving up. Even if the ball is caught when it gets down to my side of the field - it is not going to be in the end zone and my defense has got this. Right down to the one yard line, I know my defense will not fail. There is no sneak in this already defeated quarterback playing against me. His moves are old and tired and well understood by my defense. I am winning this game. My team has done a great deal to get me to this point and there is no quit in us either. Like I said - We WIN!
That is NOT how it is with God. We have already won! We are the winning team. We had an opponent and he was defeated. So why are we still playing the game? Mostly because we forget. We forget that we have already won. We forget because life is sometimes very similar to those sporting events we like to watch. Without even realizing it is happening, a contest is set up and we find ourselves in a game. Playing for keeps. Pitted against a vicious opponent who cheats whenever possible. We find ourselves in this game, and start to play because it is the natural thing to do. It somehow doesn't surprise us to find ourselves in the game. However, sometimes when we see that last minute play by the enemy our hearts rise up in our throats and we think "Oh Noooooo."
It's a lie. We get scared when we forget that it is already decided in our favor. This game is over. It was over before it started if we actually show up with our whole team. We are already the Champions, my friend. We do go on fighting, but we know the end! So what about those hail Mary passes in the last moments of the game? Sometimes we are offense and Jesus is the quarterback. We win! Sometimes we are defense and the devil is the quarterback. What then? Our defense is the best! That is what then!
It is up to us. We can lose the game if we choose to. We can leave our defense on the sidelines. It makes no sense whatsoever, but people do it all the time. Not me, but other people. My defense is in play here. The formation is tight and each step is a symphony of perfection. This pass will not succeed. It will not score. This game is mine!
Recently I prayed to God and asked for something. It was big and it was special. It meant a lot to me and it was for someone else so it meant a lot to them as well. I was blown away by how quickly and how easily God came through with the answer to that prayer. It was a blow out of a game! No doubt. I was on the offense scoring away and the devils defense didn't even show up for the game. It was trip after trip to the end zone. Cha Ching!
The score racked up quickly and easily and now that the clock is just about to run out the other team has shown up. There has been some comeback by the opposing offense. It's actually a game now, and although none of the previous points I scored can be taken away from me, there is a last minute hail Mary soaring through the sky as I write these words. It was not thrown by MY quarterback. I am on the defense here. I am ahead, but not by enough and this would seal my loss!
So what does that mean to me as I watch that ball soar through the air and threaten all that I have been rejoicing over for the entire game? For me, it means I look to my defense. I have the best defense ever assembled! I have the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. There is nothing getting through that defensive line. So is it fun to watch that ball soar through the air? No. I can't say that it is, but I can count on my defense. I can trust it. Just as my offense was perfect, my defense will not fail.
There is no surprise in this attack if I think about it. My opponent never quits so why should I expect him to lay down and take the loss. Why should I think that just because I am ahead there will be no fight? That is not very wise. Yes. I have already won this Victory in Jesus, but in this crazy game called life we walk these victories out because our defeated enemy still wants there to be a game. He flails and tosses those hail Mary passes and hopes to win some even though he is a loser.
I am not giving up. Even if the ball is caught when it gets down to my side of the field - it is not going to be in the end zone and my defense has got this. Right down to the one yard line, I know my defense will not fail. There is no sneak in this already defeated quarterback playing against me. His moves are old and tired and well understood by my defense. I am winning this game. My team has done a great deal to get me to this point and there is no quit in us either. Like I said - We WIN!
posted by Troy and Grace Elliott at Sunday, April 18, 2010
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