The opening to the show featured Jim McKay narrating thru the different sports with the famous line of "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat (which of course was always some ski jumper who takes a big header off the ramp).
Last Friday I blogged about having an outlook that allows us to be up in these seemingly bleak times we live in. At least everywhere we turn we hear nothing but bad news. But because of God's great love for us, the prophet Habakkuk showed us we can have a different outlook that allows us to focus on God in our circumstances and still through it all, praise Him.
Psalm 118 spoke loudly to me recently as it showed me that we don't just have to put on a happy face for God, but that we have our own "thrill of victory" that we can point to. "The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory. Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly. The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things! Psalm 118:15-16 NLT
We know how it all turns out. We know the final score. We win. As long as we don't jump ship along the way when the going gets tough, as long as we hold to our faith, as long as we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and trust Him through these tough times, we will prevail.
I don't know about you, but I love to win, especially when I was a kid. My parents can attest I was the kid that would cry when our team would lose a baseball game. My folks were so embarassed that I would take it so serious to the point of crying, but being the youngest of three boys in a neighborhood of all boys gave me a competitive spirit at an early age.
But for all the sports I played growing up I never went into any game knowing the final outcome before we played. We still had to play the game. The psalm continues with more promises of our success, all thanks to the Lord of course.
" The strong right arm of the Lord is raised in triumph. The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things! I will not die; instead, I will live to tell what the Lord has done." 16-17.
"Open for me the gates where the righteous enter, and I will go in and thank the Lord. These gates lead to the presence of the Lord, and the godly enter there. I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory! 19-21
Today is the 4th of July and we celebrate our independence and the victory our nation achieved over 200 years ago. Many lives were laid down for us to enjoy the freedoms we have in this nation today. We live in times where others would like to destroy us because of the freedoms we enjoy.
But no matter what happens to us in this world, victory is ours in the next. Which for me makes it all the easier to be thankful in good times and in bad. So while you're out at the pool this weekend, around the bbq, watching fireworks, let us remember the Lord before the weekend is gone. "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever." Psalm 118:29
I pray you enjoy those fireworks and that burger just a little more this year. Amen
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