The Comfort of Knowing Who’s Going to Win

With football season well underway, I can’t resist commenting on a trait many of us fans share. Even if we feel confident our team will win, don’t we feel uneasy as the game unfolds? That’s part of the fun, but also part of the frustration, watching anxiously and hoping for the desired outcome.

 

Have you ever had an occasion when your favorite team was playing a crucial game, but you couldn’t watch it on TV live? Maybe you’d been invited to a wedding and couldn’t think of a single valid excuse for not attending? (Who plans weddings that conflict with important games, right?) 

 

Maybe some old friends stopped by unexpectedly for a visit, and you realized how rude it would be to ignore them and watch the game? Or maybe you had to work while the game was on – there was no getting out of it. So, what did you do? If possible, you probably recorded the game for watching later.

When your obligation was fulfilled, you could hardly wait to get to the TV and watch the game from the start. But first, you couldn’t resist taking a peek at the final score to make sure your team came out on top. Comforted by knowing that victory was already in hand, you found your anxiety level considerably reduced, or even non-existent. Correct? After all, you already knew who was going to win.

 

Recently, I read about one avid fan who was required to attend a work meeting while his favorite team was playing against its archrival. Later he invited a friend at the meeting to watch the recording of the game with him, but he didn’t exhibit his usual crazed, fanatical self.

 

After a while, the friend asked why he wasn’t ranting and ranting at the game’s expected ups and downs. His response? “While we were in the meeting, one of the guys got a text about the game. My team stages a comeback in the fourth quarter to win. So why worry if I know we’re going to win?”

 

There’s an important spiritual parallel to this. Sometimes we look at the world around us and find ourselves fretting. ‘God, are you paying attention? Things are really messy here. Can’t you do something?’

 

In reality, the Lord already has done “something.” The most important something of all: “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). For all who have trusted in Jesus Christ and have been born again into God’s family, our sin problem has been remedied, once and for all, and our eternal future is secure.

 

Okay, but what about the course our society and the world are taking? It often seems God has been excluded totally from the equation. Isn’t that a good reason for fretting, maybe even gnashing our teeth? Just weeks from now an important election is coming up. What if the candidates we think should win don’t? Or looking at things on a more personal level, perhaps we’re facing some overwhelming challenges – health, relationships, finances, career. Aren’t those things worth worrying about?

 

We could easily justify our anxieties. But that’s where faith comes in. Not a blind, hope-so kind of faith but one that is unwavering, anchored in who God is and what He says. This is when knowing who’s ultimately going to win is so important. 

 

As the apostle Paul could boldly write to his protégé, Timothy, “…I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day [when he will stand victoriously before Christ in heaven]” (2 Timothy 1:12).

 

More than we can ever imagine, Paul endured hardships and suffering in many forms, yet because he could look forward with earnest expectation and confident assurance in the Lord’s promises, he didn’t fall victim to despair and hopelessness.

 

Jesus addressed this with His troubled, confused disciples near the end of His earthly ministry as they pondered His imminent departure: “I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). He was saying in effect, ‘Don’t be overwhelmed by worries and concern. The outcome of the game is already settled – and we win!’

 

The Scriptures offer similar assurances in many places, both the Old and New Testaments. But there’s none better than what Jesus declares in the final chapter of the last book in the Bible: “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (Revelation 21:12-13).

Like watching a football game when it seems the momentum has shifted to the opposing team, it makes all the difference in the world if we know beyond the shadow of a doubt who will emerge victorious!   

Maintaining Positivity in a World of Negativity

Some people have observed that the best way to wreck a new day is to consult the news first thing in the morning. Hearing or reading about acts of violence and mayhem, traffic fatalities, wars, the troubled economy, and natural disasters before or during breakfast can easily turn even the sunniest day into gloom and doom. 

 

Having cut my journalistic teeth as a newspaper editor, I feel almost obligated to watch the evening news and read the daily newspapers – now online mostly, rather than the paper versions I loved so much. It’s important to be informed about the world around us. But it’s become increasingly difficult with the media’s predominantly negative tone.

 

We can choose to totally ignore the news, as some people have done. After all, isn’t ignorance bliss? But as citizens of our communities, our nation and the world, we should have some idea about what’s happening. The key is to avoid letting bad news shape our moods and attitudes. As an old friend used to say, “You can’t keep birds from flying over your head – but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.”

 

Some experts would advise us to cultivate a positive attitude, developing a Pollyanna perspective that sees even the worst of things in an uplifting manner. Some folks can succeed at that, but most of us can’t. As another friend of mine is wont to say, “I’m a very positive person. I’m positive things are going to get worse.”

 

What I’ve found works best is not to expect people and circumstances to put me into a brighter, more optimistic frame of mind. Instead, I turn to the Bible to find refuge from the cloud of negativity we confront every day. Reading and trusting in the principles and promises from the Scriptures have a way of turning one’s thinking from, “Good lord, morning!” to “Good morning, Lord!”

 

For instance, in Philippians 4:8 the apostle Paul offers this advice: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”

 

That passage – a single verse – gives us a lot to contemplate. Focusing on the truth, what’s noble and right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy; that’s more than enough to pull us out of our daily doldrums. How often does our culture encourage us to do that?

 

The Old Testament book of Jeremiah offers two verses in particular that many times have helped point my mind in the right direction. The promise God gave the Israelites in Jeremiah 29:11 I believe applies to all of His children, even those of us living thousands of years later: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plants to give you hope and a future.’” For me, it’s like Him saying, “I know things don’t look all that great right now. But no worries. I’ve got this.”

 

Then there’s Jeremiah 33:3 in which God declares, “Call on Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things which you do not know.” I’ve experienced this numerous times during my lifetime and I’m looking forward to even more, both in this life and the life to come.

 

When we see or encounter negative behavior over the course of our everyday activities, we’re assured it’s not from the Lord. Because Galatians 5:22-23 tells us, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control; against such things there is no law.” Through God’s Holy Spirit, which the Bible says indwells every believer, we can learn to live, think and speak in ways that separate us from the negative environment surrounding us.

 

There are countless other biblical examples I could cite, but perhaps the greatest reason for hoping and thinking positively in a predominantly negative world is Jesus’ promise in John 16:33. He told His followers, “I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

At times that might not seem to be the case. But as the old preacher often repeated, “God said it. I believe it. And that’s that!” Let me challenge you: When everything seems to be getting darker and darker, as if the sky is falling, dig into the Scriptures. You’ll find more than enough reasons for hope that endures in a seemingly hopeless world. 

Finding Genuine Hope in a Hope-so World

Material things come and go, as we’ve all discovered. We buy a new shirt, dress, car or smartphone, and before we know it is worn out, broken, or outdated because of advancing technology. Unable to rely on tangible “stuff,” we find the most valuable “commodities” are intangible, not things you can store in a closet, or display on a table or in a driveway.

The so-called “love chapter,” 1 Corinthians 13, cites three such things: Faith, Hope, and Love. The passage declares “the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13), and that says volumes. But there’s much we can also say about hope.

These days, hope seems in short supply. We turn on the news and all we hear about are disasters, tragedies, violence, political corruption, rumors of war, poverty, disease, and human misconduct in its many forms. “Good morning!” And we’re supposed to go into the day with smiles on our faces? 

Many times I’ve felt tempted to shrug in resignation, “It’s hopeless.” I suspect that’s true for all of us. The daily news is bad enough, but when circumstances invading our personal lives appear beyond resolution, it’s even worse. 

It might be a miserable job situation: We hate it, but can’t afford to quit, and there’s no other option. Or a bad marriage: Those vows exchanged, “for better or worse”? For some couples, there’s been a lot more of the worse than the better. And I have several of my friends confronting advanced stages of cancer, forced to come to grips with their mortality that might arrive sooner than later.

Faced with such situations, it’s easy to lose hope and fall into despair. Even the Bible acknowledges, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12). Too often, the best our world can offer is “hope so,” as in, “So, you think tomorrow’s weather will be nice for the picnic?” “Hope so.” Or, “Do you think the Jackals will win their game tonight?” “Hope so.” Or, “Are you confident Aunt Bessie’s surgery will go okay?” “Hope so.”

When reduced to “hope so,” we find ourselves clinging to wishful thinking. But as days, weeks and months pass without realizing the outcome we desire, that deferred hope can indeed make our hearts sick, as the passage declares. So where do we turn? What can we do?

The best advice is to turn to God. He should be our first resort, not the last. Because biblical hope isn’t a “maybe, hope-so, I wish” pursuit. It’s an earnest expectation, confident assurance based on what the Lord promises in His Word. The apostle Paul said as much when he wrote, "according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death" (Philippians 1:20).

When we have absolute trust in someone, we don’t have to take a hope-so attitude toward a promise they’ve made. If they say they will meet us at a specific time and place, they’ll be there. If we receive the assurance they will do some important thing we need done, they will do it. 

Many years ago, I was at my grandfather’s house when a toy of mine got broken. Can’t recall now what it was, or how it became damaged. I asked if he could fix it, and Grandpop – ever the handyman (unlike his grandson) – promised he would. The job wasn’t as simple as he initially thought, but he stayed with it until my bauble was returned to working order. God’s like that, only multiplied millions of times over.

We experience the trials and tribulations of life, and if someone tells us, “This too shall pass,” we want to slug them. But even in our most dire moments, we can turn to the Lord with hope – not just “hope so” – assured He will somehow work things out, even when they seem impossible. 

Not long before His earthly ministry came to an end and was ushered to the cross to pay a debt He didn’t owe, Jesus offered this consolation to His followers: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). We can embrace that promise even today, with genuine hope.

Joy in Knowing Victory’s Already Won

For Ohio State fans, watch a replay of the Buckeyes' College Football
Championship victory is far less stressful than it was watching it live.

“I can’t stand the suspense!” How many times have you heard that? How many times have you said that yourself?

We do this with page-turning novels that keep us guessing until the last paragraph. Movie thrillers keep us squirming in our seats, wondering how the good guys are going to prevail. And season finale cliff-hangers on TV sometimes ratchet our suspense to extremes.

But this matter of suspense isn’t limited to the make-believe world. It’s a big deal in real life, too. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could be certain of the outcome for things important to us, and could know well in advance? It sure would save us a lot of anxiety, stress and worry, don’t you think?

For instance, how would you feel if your favorite team was playing in the championship game and someone were able to provide an ironclad, no-doubt-about-it guarantee that they would win the contest? (For the sake of discussion, let’s just assume this assurance was on the up-and-up. No game-fixing.) How do you think that would affect your tension level as the game unfolded?

Or maybe you’re one of those rabid fans – as I am – that records the game while watching it live, so if your team wins you can replay it and revel in the victory again. After the game, when you know the outcome, doesn’t that enable you to relax and enjoy it more the second time around? No need for gnashing teeth every time your team makes a mistake or the other team scores. Victory is certain!

Consider a different scenario: You’ve just been diagnosed with a very serious disease and the first physician you consult with offers a dire prognosis. But then you pursue the oft-recommended second opinion and the specialist, upon reviewing your test results, assures you the outlook is far more hopeful than you’d been told. In fact, the doctor advises you not to worry at all, that you’ll undoubtedly be cured; the earlier diagnosis was incorrect. How would you feel then? You might be angry about the first evaluation, and a bit concerned about the course of treatment, but with faith in the medical expert’s promise, you’d feel confident that after going through it you would be good to go.

How about a friend or loved one going through an extremely difficult time, leaving you feeling helpless. Wouldn’t it be great at such times if someone could tell you with unwavering certainty, “It’s going to be OK. I promise”?

Unfortunately, living in a sin-scarred, broken world, the fairy tale endings of “happily ever after” don’t always translate into everyday life. And yet, as we read the Bible, we find God does offer assurances and guarantees, even for the toughest circumstances.

Speaking through the prophet Jeremiah to His chosen people, God stated, “For I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). Although addressed specifically to the nation of Israel, this is a declaration He makes for all of His children. The end result, the Lord promises, will be a good one.

Knowing His crucifixion was looming in the near future, Jesus offered similar assurances to His followers when He said, “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have (perfect) peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer (take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted)! For I have overcome the world. (I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.)” – John 16:33 (Amplified translation).

Confronting not only our personal problems but also frightening events in the world around us, it’s easy to despair and lose heart. But we don’t have to - we can trust in the “guarantee” God provides, being reassured as Jesus said, “I have overcome the world.” That’s what “victory in Jesus” is all about.

Bothered By ‘Blessings’

There’s an old saying concerning communication: “It’s not what you say – it’s exactly what you say.” So it’s implicit that before words easily slip off our tongues, there’s no harm in pausing to consider the impact of what we say upon our hearers.

This came to mind as I read an online article by Scott Dannemiller, a former missionary. The article was entitled, “The One Thing Christians Should Stop Saying.” What is that one thing, according to Dannemiller? “Feeling blessed.”

Even in the midst of storm clouds, a
rainbow can reveal God's blessings.
(Photo by Joe Ehrmann)

As he explains, “I’ve noticed a trend among Christians, myself included, and it troubles me. Our rote response to material windfalls is to call ourselves blessed. Like the ‘amen’ at the end of a prayer.”

I’ve often observed this, too – and been guilty of it. Successfully recovering from health setbacks, we declare how “blessed” we are. We acquire a new (or newer) car, complete with high-tech gizmos, and tell others it’s a “blessing.” A businesswoman reports how God continues to “bless” her business with growth and profits. Or we attend a gathering at someone’s gorgeous, expansive home, compliment them on it, and they reply, “Yes, God’s really blessed us with it.”

Sounds good, right? Giving credit to the Lord, where it’s due. Readily acknowledging good things that come into our lives and work, expressing gratitude to God for His provision. In one sense, that’s as it should be.

But what about those who suffer from chronic, even terminal illnesses – with no prospect of experiencing good health again? Are they not blessed? And if not, why? What about the folks stuck with clunkers for vehicles, who can’t afford anything better? Is God mad at them? The businessman who strives to honor God in all he does, yet sees his company continue to flounder. Why hasn’t the Lord “blessed” him? A struggling couple who love Jesus admire the splendid home but can’t help but wonder, “Why hasn’t God blessed us like this?”

As Dannemiller pointed out, in our American culture we tend to equate God’s blessings with material prosperity and physical well-being. But taking a close look at the Scriptures, that’s not necessarily the biblical view.

Jesus told His followers, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Trouble? Where’s the blessing in that, right?

Writing to believers in the city of Corinth, the apostle Paul declared, “as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance, in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger” (2 Corinthians 6:4-5). Could it be God didn’t like Paul as much as we thought?

Paul and another apostle, James, exhorted followers of Jesus to “rejoice in our sufferings” (Romans 5:3) and “consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds” (James 1:2). What kind of “showers of blessings” are these?

When the Bible speaks about blessings, much of the time it offers a perspective that doesn’t take into account materialistic rewards.

In Matthew 5, His so-called “Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus talked about those blessed that are “poor in spirit,” “those who mourn,” “the meek,” “those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,” and “those who are persecuted.” Hardly the kinds of things we would feel blessed about, but as He explained, each of these conditions cause people to draw closer to God, perhaps the greatest blessing of all.

The very first psalm also offers a non-materialistic view of blessings. It states, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers” (Psalm 1:1). He’s blessed by not associating with disreputable people that can have a negative, ungodly influence on him.

This isn’t to say God can’t or doesn’t bless us in tangible ways, because many times He does. But trials and adversities that move us closer to God often can prove to be great blessings, while material possessions that become idols, objects of our affections, can prove instead to be a curse by distracting us from God.

When Jesus was approached by a woman in a crowd, He told her, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it” (Luke 11:28). Do you want to be blessed? Simply do what the Lord tells you to do in the Scriptures. Then, regardless of your circumstances – good or bad – you can truthfully declare, “I’m greatly blessed.”

Happy, Happy, Happy

A Facebook friend, in response to one of my comments, recently observed how we feel about things and life in general, like being happy or sad, is largely a matter of choice. There’s a lot of validity to that. I recall years ago someone wrote a book called Happiness is a Choice. I never read it, so apparently I chose to be happy without it.

In many instances we can actively choose our attitudes. Urban Meyer, head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team (it’s my blog, so I can mention them if I want!) has been using a formula with his players supporting this concept: E + R = O (Event + Response = Outcome).

That idea finds affirmation in many quarters. We all remember the lilting Bobby McFerrin tune, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” I’ve not become an avid fan of the TV reality series “Duck Dynasty,” but noticed Phil Robertson, the original Duck commander (head quack pot?) has written an autobiography called Happy, Happy, Happy. Better than sad, sad, sad for sure.

"Happy" can come and go in
an instant. "Joy" stays forever.

Being essentially a glass-half-full kind of person, finding the happier side of things might be easier for me than for some others. But I only agree with the notion that we can choose to be happy to a degree. Since our state of “happy” is strongly influenced by happenings around us, remaining happy about everything would require some level of lunacy or cluelessness.

Suppose you’ve had an enjoyable time at the mall, bought a few nice things you needed – or wanted – and you’re feeling happy. Then you notice the fender on your car, smashed, taillight in smithereens on the pavement. You search for a note from the offending motorist, but there’s none. It was hit-and-run, and now you’re calling your insurance agent, unsure about the extent of your uninsured motorist coverage. How happy are you now?

Or you’ve been having a bothersome pain, so you go to your physician, who orders a couple of tests and some blood work. “It’s probably nothing to be concerned about,” she assures you in her best effort to avoid admitting, “I don’t have a clue what’s wrong with you.” A day or two later you receive a phone call and learn the “probably nothing” is definitely something, and it needs to be treated immediately. How happy are you now?

Or you report for work, as you have the past dozen years or so, ready to tackle another day of challenges. Your boss calls and asks you to come by his office. As compassionately as possible, he informs you the company is being forced to make some regrettable cuts – and sorry, you’re a “cut-ee.” How happy are you now?

There’s even a misconception that if you’re a follower of Christ you’re supposed to be continually happy. After all, doesn’t the old hymn say, “and now I am happy all the day”? But in reality, the state of being or feeling happy is neither requirement nor expectation for following Jesus.

Checking with my trusty concordance, the word “happy” appears less than 30 times in the entire Bible. However, there are more than 200 variations of the word “joy” in the Bible. In reality, happy is to joy what a housecat is to a tiger. Totally different animal.

Yes, there are many times when happiness and joy intersect. But joy can exist – even endure – when happy goes away. That’s the promise Jesus made to all who follow Him.

He said, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:9-11).

One thing Jesus never promised His followers was they would always be happy or without problems. In fact, He assured just the opposite. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). In place of “take heart,” other translations use the words “be courageous” or “be of good cheer.” In other words, we can rejoice even when we find nothing to feel happy about.

Gazing at the world around us, some of us may be delighted by what we see, others may feel distressed. You might have just experienced one of the happiest moments of your life, or you may be enduring a great personal loss or tragedy. Regardless of the circumstances, even when we feel overwhelmed, incapable of choosing to be happy, we can experience the joy only Jesus can give.