Fast-Forwarding the Game

I’m convinced the DVR is among the greatest inventions ever made! With its ability to record sporting events, I can watch them at a more convenient time if life is busy and I have priorities as a husband and father.

When games run late at night, I can go to sleep and watch them in the morning in a shorter time. With college football games on late Saturday nights and NFL games on Sunday, Monday, and Thursday nights, the DVR lets me watch important games at a different time than scheduled. This option is also helpful during March Madness.

Another benefit of recording games is fast-forwarding through commercials, instant replays, plays under review, and other delays, which saves me time and lets me get to the parts I want to see.

Although it’s nice to speed through annoying commercials, skip refs reviewing their calls, and rush past players standing around, we are taking shortcuts and not embracing the full experience of watching a game. 

By being impatient and skipping parts we don't like, we miss the build-up, anticipation, flow of the game, excitement in the uncertainty, and the time between plays to analyze what just happened. 

We hit the fast-forward button to get to the outcome as quickly as possible, but miss out on fully enjoying the entire process.

Honestly, thinking about this won’t stop me from using the DVR and skipping commercials, but the parallel to other areas of life is convicting.

The reality is that we can't fast-forward through painful situations or skip every annoying part of our day, but what if we stopped trying to rush through every uncomfortable or difficult situation?

What if we stopped trying to speed through our challenges and kept our impatience from pushing us into shortcuts? Instead of rushing to the good stuff, what if we soaked in each moment of the process?

As followers of Jesus, we may want to fast-forward through life to get to heaven, but God has us here in this moment for a purpose, and we're in the middle of His process and plan.

So, when challenges, pain, and trials come our way, do we look for shortcuts and try to skip the struggle…or do we embrace the journey instead of rushing? Do we take time to analyze, unpack, and listen to what God is revealing?

Do we find excitement in the uncertainty because we know God is doing something good in us and through us…or do we look for ways to get to the outcome as soon as possible?

The good news is that God is with us every step of the way, and as we trust Him to carry us through, we can stay patient because we know He won't rush the work He's doing in our hearts that ultimately helps us grow.

Here is the process that takes place:

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love” (Romans 5:3-5; NLT).

Today, as nice as the fast-forward button would be, let’s embrace, and even rejoice in, every part of our journey that involves endurance, strengthened character, and confident hope.

Even when we want to, we can’t always skip the hard parts or run to see the outcome, but as David writes in Psalm 23:4 (AMP), “Even though I walk through the [sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort and console me” (emphasis mine).

I’m Bryce Johnson, and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for the pain and challenges I’ve gone through that developed my character, deepened my faith, and gave me confident hope in You. I pray I won’t rush the process or try to skip discomfort, because I know it’s all part of my journey and growth as a maturing believer in Jesus. I pray in His name. Amen.