Falling Down In A Winning Season! 3-1–26

Welcome to the word for the week. Imagine this scenario for a moment. You are getting ready for the game of your life, literally. You are told in advance that you will win the game. It is fixed in your favor. The referee is on your side so every call is going to go your way. There is help in the stands that cannot be seen by anyone but they are ready on a moment’s notice. The opponent has been weakened before the game even starts although they do not know it yet. The trophy is ready and it already has your name on it as the victorious one. All of the witnesses to this game of life are all wearing the same color of your team. All you have to do is go out there and do your part. You simply need to follow the instructions given to you. Now imagine those instructions simply say be still and know that I am God. What would you do?

When you read that you will more than likely say you are going to out there and get your victory. It is already fixed in your favor and there’s nothing you have to do in order to win. Well, that is your life in Christ everyday. Everything you need to win has already been done and placed before you. All of the attendees are on your side. There is actually no room for any opposition. However, there is a harsh reality about people at times. With all of that in place you would be amazed at how many excuses you will hear. What if the referee changes their mind? What if the help does not show up? What if all of the witnesses are not on my side? What if the opponent starts to win? To all of those questions there is one thing to say. What if all of that doubt and negativity is just you and your thinking? The truth is that it does not matter how much God works out for us in advance if we do not believe Him in the first place.

Faith is an action not a conversation. The truth about this game of life is that it is not an optional game that is played when you feel like it. It is actually not even a game at all. It is a series of daily events that you and I have to decide which way we are going to be in it. The stakes on this journey are high. It is a matter of life and death. Yet, God promises us the victory before the battle begins. The winner of the race is already determined and there is nothing that can be done to stop that unless you quit. In a season of promised victory the question is are you falling down? Are you losing in this season of victory? Are you quitting with a fight already fixed in your favor? Have you lost your fire to win in this season? Have you lost your hope and courage in Christ to press on when you feel weary? The year is still in the beginning stages. We are not yet out of the first quarter. Have you given up too soon? Why now? You have come through countless things so what makes this the one thing you quit in?

The issue of the fight is never the fight itself. It always has and always will be about your willingness to persevere. Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers them from them all. There are some keywords in that. Many means you won’t be able to count how many. Afflictions means troubles that you feel. But look at the promise beyond that. The righteous are the right standing in Christ. The Lord is just that, the Lord. It is He who delivers or carries us through those afflictions. How many of them? ALL of them!!! So let me ask this question another way. Who would let their troubles separate them from God in a season of victory? Who would quit in the middle of a fight they already won? Who would really give up on God or even doubt Him? When did you ever lose in a winning season? The answer is never. Never needs to be when you are willing to give up or quit. Never! Never needs to be what you say about walking away from God. Never needs to be what you say about not trusting God. The fight stretches you because you can handle it. If you would not handle it then it would not be you in it. Stay strong because this is not the season to fall back, slack back, or outright quit!

May the Lord continue to bless and keep you in His grace,
Bishop Carlos J. Lennon