"But thanks be
to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1
Corinthians 15:57
Thursday nights you will find me at
Life Group. Tonight was no exception. The score was 3-2 somewhere
in the 4th or 5th inning when I left my house. I knew we were still
down by a run but also had to turn my attention to the group and surrender my
focus to the potential pennant winning game. As we ended the night I
glanced at my phone and read
Breaking News: Giants reach 3rd World Series in 5 years, def. Cards, 6-3, on Travis Ishikawa 3-run HR in 9th.
I was ecstatic and disappointed. Knowing that
I could share in the excitement but grieving that I didn't actually get to
experience it on the edge of my seat play by play. Believe me when I tell
you my time was well spent at Life Group and I wouldn't have taken back my
decision to not move Life Group to a Giants watching party, although I did
consider it. As we wrapped up and headed home, I was walking up the stairs to
my door reading text messages and Facebook status updates filled with
excitement and celebration, I knew it must have been an incredible game.
I walked in to the post game playing and said
causally "I wish they would replay the game." My brilliant roommate
grabbed the remote and began to rewind the game. She had been watching since
the 8th. This meant I could relive Michael Morse hitting a homer to tie it up
in the bottom of the 8th to see Jeremy Affeldt retire Oscar Taveras to escape a
bases loaded top of the ninth. This is when the true magic happened. Panda
singles, Belt gets walked and Ishikawa approaches the plate. Two pitches
in and the heat rests on the shoulders of Michael Wacha, 2-0. Swing and a
hit, Ishikawa has just hit a home run to bring the score to 6-3, the Giants are
going to the World Series.
As I sat on the edge of my seat watching the game
unfold knowing the outcome I was reminded of 1 Corinthians 15:57. Although I
knew the final score I was still experiencing the play by play. This is how we
should live our lives. We know that Victory is ours because of the cross 2,000
years ago. Watching the game knowing that victory was coming didn't take away
from the excitement but removed the anxiety that would normally accompany a 3-3
score in the bottom of the ninth. The fact that the tomb was empty and Christ
rose should remove the anxiety we experience in our lives. I understand that
there will always be things out of our control that throw us a curveball but
can I tell you that those experiences don't catch God off guard. God is in
control and has a perfect plan for each of us. We get to live in the Victory,
Romans 8:37 Paul says "No, despite all these
things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us." Be
encouraged, you may feel like it's the bottom of the ninth
with two outs but God has one more at bat and He will reign Victorious in your
life. Trust in Him and believe that together we Own the
Pennant.
#OrangeOctober #3in5
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