Maintaining Hope

Week One of the college football regular season is off to an exciting start, with Thursday night’s primetime matchup between Georgia Tech and Colorado coming down to the final play of regulation.

After trailing for the entirety of the second half, Colorado quarterback Julian Lewis connected with receiver Charlie Williams on a 20-yard scoring strike with less than a minute remaining to give the Buffaloes a 14-13 lead.

The Yellow Jackets quickly responded on the ensuing drive, with new starting quarterback Alberto Mendoza completing a 42-yard pass to Dalen Penson to set Georgia Tech up in field goal range for a game-winning attempt.

But on the final play of the game, Georgia Tech’s Aidan Birr had his 45-yard attempt blocked by Boo Carter, allowing the Buffaloes to escape Atlanta with a narrow one-point victory.

For much of the game, it seemed like Colorado might have been destined to drop its third consecutive season opener. Though the Buffaloes seemed in control of the game's flow in many ways, the team struggled to convert its relative success into points.

In the second half, for example, the Buffaloes had only three offensive possessions, thanks in large part to a successful rushing attack which allowed them to control the clock. 

Though Colorado moved the ball 52 yards over 15 plays on its first possession, it was still forced to punt because it started the drive with terrible field position.

On its second possession of the half, the Buffaloes put together a 17-play, 61-yard drive, but walked away with nothing to show for it on the scoreboard due to its field goal attempt being blocked. 

Despite the perpetual letdowns his offense faced, Colorado head coach Deion Sanders said he and his team never lost hope of finding a way to win the contest.

Sanders commented, “If you'd know how many linemen grabbed me and said ‘I told y'all we got this, I told you we got this coach.’ I mean, you have no idea how many times I was shaken by a lineman and told that we got this, and I never doubted it.” 

No matter what Colorado faced, the team retained hope of finding a way to win, never flinching or losing confidence as the clock wound down.

As followers of Jesus, we will undoubtedly encounter many trials and disappointments as we go through this life. 

But no matter how many roadblocks we seem to hit or how much adversity comes our way, we must never lose hope. 

Colorado's players and coaches may have kept their hope because they were placing their confidence in themselves. Still, we can always have hope as Christians because we place our confidence and trust in our Lord and Savior, who will never fail to deliver ultimate victory to His people.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (ESV) says, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

Our victory in Christ doesn't mean we always experience the outcomes we desire in the here and now. But we can rest assured that the “light momentary afflictions” that we face will ultimately result in “an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.”

If we're not careful, we can allow the circumstances in our lives to dictate how we function spiritually. We might seem to have joy, hope, and contentment when all is going well, but find that we quickly slip into despair, bitterness, and anger when we're not getting the outcomes we desired. 

Rather than letting our circumstances dictate how we function spiritually, we must anchor our hope not in our circumstances, but in the character and nature of God.

Hebrews 10:23 (NASB) states, “Let’s hold firmly to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”

Notice that the reason we can avoid wavering in our hope is that we have rooted our hope in God, who will always be faithful to keep His promises. 

Athletes and coaches may have confidence in their abilities, but even the best can make critical mistakes at key moments. 

Of course, when it comes to God, it's drastically different. The Lord will not and cannot fail us or be unfaithful to what He has promised.

Again, this doesn't mean we can assume things will always go the way we want. God is absolutely faithful, but He's never promised that we will always get our way or live a life free from suffering.

In fact, Scripture promises that we will enter into glory through much suffering and persecution (Acts 14:22; 2 Timothy 3:12). 

But we can rest confidently and hopefully as we remember that God has promised to be with us through the difficulties (Hebrews 13:5), to use our suffering to conform us into the image of Christ (James 1:2-4), and to eventually remove all pain and suffering in eternity (Revelation 21:4).

Today, let's be people filled with God-centered hope. No matter the difficulties we face, let's remember that God will bring us to eternal victory because of what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross.

As Jesus stated in John 16:33 (NIV), “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Or like the Colorado lineman said, “I told y'all we got this.”

I’m Matt Osborne, and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for the hope that You have given me in Christ. Please help me to place all of my trust and hope in You, remembering that You will always be faithful to keep Your promises. May the hope I have in You encourage others to trust in You as well. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.