It was a brightly beautiful Sunday morning complete with portable church set up. My husband’s team, Czech Republic, was scheduled to play an epic championship game that morning at ten.
The problem with this time placement was that we were in the middle of serving at church. Needless to say, he couldn’tstop himself from sneakily checking the score once or twice during the Sunday experience. His soccer team was labeled the underdogs of the series and a win seemed out of reach.
When church ended, he tucked his phone away in his jeans back jeans pocket and turned his attention toward breaking down the worship and production department, which took forty-five minutes. I didn’t see him check his phone once. Deep down, I knew this was a game he didn’t want to miss. The phone was probably burning a hole in his pocket!
We drove two cars to church that day so he could take our daughter, Selah, on their monthly date. He tries to take one of our girls on a date each Sunday of the month. It works out perfectly most months because we have four girls.
I love that they can experience dates with Daddy before they ever get to the dating stage. We want them to understand how a God-loving man treats a woman—with respect, honor, and love. On our way home, the girls and I passed Milan in his car at the grocery store with Selah.
He had the biggest smile on his face—an out-of-the-ordinary type of smile—and I knew in an instant that he knew something I didn’t.
I racked my brain for what it could possibly be and only one thought came to me: “I wonder if his team won the big game.”
When we all got home, he hopped out of his car with the excitement of a five-year-old on Christmas morning. Barreling through the kitchen, he said, “I can’t believe it, the Czech Republic won two to zero! I recorded the game and I can’t wait to watch it.”
I was so excited to share this game-watching experience with him. I made the family lunch and we all watched one of the most wonderful games I’d ever experienced.
You know what made it so wonderful for me? It was the fact that I knew our team won in the end. Now, you must understand: I’m one of those terrible readers who will read the last few pages of a book to see if it’s worth spending my time on. Why read an entire book, wasting hours of precious time, only for it to end poorly?
I felt as if I was approaching this game like I would a novel. I wasn’t anxious when the
other team attacked, advanced, or tried to score, because I knew I was cheering for the winning team.
My friends, I share that story to tell you this: you are on the winning team.
You don’t need to worry about all the details of the battle. God has already won. He has fought on your behalf. Simply have the courage to fight for what’s in front of you. Stick with it. Embrace that kind of faith in every battle you face.
I don’t know what my life will do, but many times I feel like David. I don’t know how it may change the course of history. But I do know that courage to fight in this season looks like a cherished daughter enthralled with the love of her Father, a fully loving wife, a beautifully present mother. A contributor to my local church. A worshiper. An authentic, truth-filled writer—laptop open, ready to fight the battle that is raging in this world with God-breathed words.
I pray for the courage to fight with words for kingdom purposes. To fight with words to help
strengthen you to fulfill your destiny. To fight with words and remind you of the freedom you have in Jesus. To fight with words as David fought with a slingshot and a few stones. The slingshot is my writing, the stones are concepts of extrinsic value found in scripture, yet the impact will be for God’s glory and the freedom of thousands.
To fight with words—because in this season, that is obedience for me.
"Will you embrace the courage to fight?"
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Want more resources? Check out this podcast with Rick Warren. A pastor for over 40 years. We can all learn some long-haul lessons from this.
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