5-15-21 We Win
Quote: “Everything will be ok in the end. If it’s not ok, it is not the end.”
When I think about the hills and valleys of my life, I often feel like I am on this wicked roller coaster ride. One minute I’m rocking life on the mountaintop and the next minute I’m plummeting down to the desert. Things change in an instant. Sometimes, what I thought was up is actually down and what I thought was good turns out to actually be bad.
If you’re like me, the messy middle is no fun. Whether you are desperately trying to climb up the mountain to get to the top for the best view or whether you’re sliding down from an amazing moment to enter a dry and desolate season, the middle part is always the hardest. You don’t know exactly how far you’ve got left to climb or slide down but you know there’s something coming just ahead.
I hate not feeling like things are going to be ok.
It’s debilitating sometimes. That out of control feeling is so helpless. There is not an end in sight and I desperately want to see what’s on the horizon. What is the next chapter of my life going to be like? What piece of the puzzle is coming next?
However, as Christians, we have something called hope. It is more than just a feeling. It is something that is anchored deep in our soul. We know without a doubt what the end of the story really is. We know that this life is just the training ground for what life is going to be like in our next life. We will have new bodies, new minds, a new home, and a new reality. We know that if we can somehow survive this life, our reward is greater than even our mind can fathom.
We are all just tourists on this Earth. We are just passing through, getting stamps on our earthly passports.
Friend, there is a vicious battle going on. Christians are one team and evil is on the other. We’re all in the game but we can’t play on both sides of the team. You’re either on one side or the other. There is no middle ground when it comes to the Christian life. The play book for our team is the Bible. You either believe what it says or you don’t.
But the coolest part about Team Jesus is there are so many different plays! Sometimes you’re in a third world country on the mission field. Sometimes you’re a stay at home raising little ones. Sometimes you’re the student. Sometimes you’re the pastor or spiritual leader. But as Christians, we’re on the same team. But our approach or audience can be so different. There is a group of ladies in Vegas that minister weekly to dancers. There are pastors preaching behind a pulpit. And there are missionaries daily entering enemy territory all over the world. We’re all called to play the game differently.
But in the forefront of our minds, we must never forget how the game ends.
We win. Our playbook doesn’t have a cliffhanger ending. There is no, “Oooh, I wonder what happens next?!” We don’t wonder. We may not understand the ups and downs of our life but we know what happens in the end. We win.
I’m on the winning team and I am surrounding myself with people who feel the same way. They see the big picture. The Christian life is not all rainbows and unicorns. It’s hard. But because we know how the story ends, we have hope. Hope is our comfort. It is like a giant quilt. It covers our worries and fears. The love that God has for us outweighs the hate the enemy has for us.
I believe the best Bible verse out there to back this up is John 16:33. Jesus is speaking and he says, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
He didn’t say if you have trouble. He said you will. He says we win. Good does overcome evil. Take comfort in knowing that we know how it all ends. And it’s all going to be ok.
