Devotional: Victory

The neighborhood I grew up in was small, and what was even smaller was the cul-de-sac we lived on. My next door neighbor Justin was very good at sports and I really wasn’t good at any sport. Whenever we would play games in our circle I usually was picked last and then my team lost to Justin’s team. This happened basically every day for a year. I wanted to get better at the game we played most, baseball. We would play baseball all the time and I was always losing. My dad decided that not only would he sign me up to play little league but he would be my coach as well. I was excited. When news got to Justin’s dad about my dad coaching my team, he decided that he would coach his son’s team and prove once and for all who the better player was. My dad was a very patient and loving coach who would take the time to teach me how to play better. Over the next few weeks my dad taught me the skills and techniques I would need to play. When the season started my dad told me that he looked at the schedule and that we had a game in 6 weeks against Justin and his dad. We really wanted to win but the odd were not in our favor. We had only one win all season and we were placed second to last in the league. Justin’s team had only one loss and were placed second overall.

Finally game day came and we were pumped to win. The odds were stacked against us, but this was personal. In the opening inning their team scored a run and we were a little discouraged for a minute, but it drove us to play better. I was the third baseman of the team, and I can still remember catching the pop-fly that got the third out for the first inning. Our team was ready to play offense, and we came out hard. Singles doubles, and triples were being hit left and right from the members of our team. I can’t remember how many times I was up to bat that day, but it must have been at least 7 and I got a hit each time. Finally in the seventh inning the referee called the game on a mercy rule. We won the game 29 to 2. We had broken the record for the most runs in a single game in our league’s history. We wanted to brag and dance and sing and just go wild about our win, but my dad, our coach would have no such thing. He told us that in order to be a good sport that we had to be gracious winners.

Do you win graciously? Do you brag over your wins? Or do you give the glory to God? Having victory isn’t about winning; it’s about having God on your side and giving Him the glory. This week as you prepare to teach your class, think about the wins you have in your life. Now think about how you acted when you won. God is on our side and if we are to boast, we are to boast about Him.

Much Love, Ryan.