It's early January and we are coming off another disastrous Browns season. 4-12, another head coach fired, a mess at QB, a front office that has been compared to the Three Stooges (a terrible comparison as the original Three Stooges were comic geniuses and this current regime not so much). The Cavs are having an awful season. Lots of top 4 picks and nothing to show for it. And LeBron James, who tore the heart out of this city when he took his talents to South Beach, has back to back titles. The Indians made the playoffs, but were one and done and don't look like they are making any moves this winter. In fact, they seem to be losing players.
"Sigh" - How hard is it being a sports fan in Cleveland? A majority of the time the teams have been awful and at best mediocre. Growing up during the 70's and 80's, The Cleveland Indians season was done by mid-May (though the season officially ends in late September). The Browns have been downright awful since 1999. The Cavaliers have been horrendous since LeBron left.
When we do have good seasons, they invariably end in some kind of soul-crushing defeat. We just don't lose, we lose in ways that rip the hearts from our chests. We have had The Drive, The Fumble, The Shot, Game 7 of the 1997 World Series, and Red Right 88 (all of which you can probably see on YouTube currently).
None of our teams have won a championship since 1964. 50 Years and still counting here. Half a century, Pretty long time.
People here are accustomed to losing and have a losing mentality that permeates their daily lives. They don't expect good things to happen and brace for the inevitable disappointment. "OIC" stands for "Only in Cleveland" in these parts. I am fairly certain if one of the teams did win a world championships, people would wander outside confused asking each other "What do we do?"
Each year, though, I root for these teams (as well as others) in the hope, however slight, that this is the year. We build up our hopes and in doing so our perseverance. Cleveland fans have the most perseverance I know.
In a much bigger way, this happens in our walk with the Lord. There will be times that we lose hope or we see others being blessed when we are not and want to give up. It's easy to do when the forces of the world fight back and we decide "Why should we go on?"
Paul tells us in Galatians 6:9, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up"
Ever struggle with doing good because its not received well or you didn't get the reaction you expected? I have lots of times, and I'm sure others have as well. Paul, here, is trying to build up our spirits convincing us to march forward. Appropriate to the Galatians he was writing to, and to us two thousand years later. It's not going to be easy. Fighting against what the world wants never will be. The world fought against Peter and Paul, and it fought against Jesus. It surely is going to fight back against us as well.
How do we get the strength to persevere during these hard times? Definitely not by our own strength. I've tried and failed too many times to count. We need God's help. Even when it seems insurmountable and impossible - we definitely need His help.
Paul tells us in Romans 8:31, "What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"
What a great assurance to hear during our times of struggle. God is for us. And in response, who could be against us? What this says is nothing, I repeat nothing, that can stand against God. This is not for us to think we can get whatever we want or walk through whomever to get it. God doesn't work that way. We aren't going to get everything our selfish hearts want. He is not Santa Claus. But, God isn't going to let us get crushed as the world closes in on us either. He loves us too much for that. We need to rely on Him and follow Him.
Paul also adds in Romans 5:3-4, "Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, character; and character, hope."
As Christians, we should expect some sort of suffering (whatever that looks like). We are not promised a perfect life on this world. There are no guarantees in this sinful world. This world stands against God and we should not be surprised at some kind of pushback. But, we know God will see us through the sufferings and we can take joy and comfort in that. That suffering while doing the Lord's work does lead to bigger and better things - it leads to hope.
Hope. Isn't that in all of us? We hope for lots of things. We hope that this will be the year one of our beloved teams brings home the championship. My friends if you have your hope in the Lord, you have already won the championship for this and the years to come.
"Sigh" - How hard is it being a sports fan in Cleveland? A majority of the time the teams have been awful and at best mediocre. Growing up during the 70's and 80's, The Cleveland Indians season was done by mid-May (though the season officially ends in late September). The Browns have been downright awful since 1999. The Cavaliers have been horrendous since LeBron left.
When we do have good seasons, they invariably end in some kind of soul-crushing defeat. We just don't lose, we lose in ways that rip the hearts from our chests. We have had The Drive, The Fumble, The Shot, Game 7 of the 1997 World Series, and Red Right 88 (all of which you can probably see on YouTube currently).
None of our teams have won a championship since 1964. 50 Years and still counting here. Half a century, Pretty long time.
People here are accustomed to losing and have a losing mentality that permeates their daily lives. They don't expect good things to happen and brace for the inevitable disappointment. "OIC" stands for "Only in Cleveland" in these parts. I am fairly certain if one of the teams did win a world championships, people would wander outside confused asking each other "What do we do?"
Each year, though, I root for these teams (as well as others) in the hope, however slight, that this is the year. We build up our hopes and in doing so our perseverance. Cleveland fans have the most perseverance I know.
In a much bigger way, this happens in our walk with the Lord. There will be times that we lose hope or we see others being blessed when we are not and want to give up. It's easy to do when the forces of the world fight back and we decide "Why should we go on?"
Paul tells us in Galatians 6:9, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up"
Ever struggle with doing good because its not received well or you didn't get the reaction you expected? I have lots of times, and I'm sure others have as well. Paul, here, is trying to build up our spirits convincing us to march forward. Appropriate to the Galatians he was writing to, and to us two thousand years later. It's not going to be easy. Fighting against what the world wants never will be. The world fought against Peter and Paul, and it fought against Jesus. It surely is going to fight back against us as well.
How do we get the strength to persevere during these hard times? Definitely not by our own strength. I've tried and failed too many times to count. We need God's help. Even when it seems insurmountable and impossible - we definitely need His help.
Paul tells us in Romans 8:31, "What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"
What a great assurance to hear during our times of struggle. God is for us. And in response, who could be against us? What this says is nothing, I repeat nothing, that can stand against God. This is not for us to think we can get whatever we want or walk through whomever to get it. God doesn't work that way. We aren't going to get everything our selfish hearts want. He is not Santa Claus. But, God isn't going to let us get crushed as the world closes in on us either. He loves us too much for that. We need to rely on Him and follow Him.
Paul also adds in Romans 5:3-4, "Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, character; and character, hope."
As Christians, we should expect some sort of suffering (whatever that looks like). We are not promised a perfect life on this world. There are no guarantees in this sinful world. This world stands against God and we should not be surprised at some kind of pushback. But, we know God will see us through the sufferings and we can take joy and comfort in that. That suffering while doing the Lord's work does lead to bigger and better things - it leads to hope.
Hope. Isn't that in all of us? We hope for lots of things. We hope that this will be the year one of our beloved teams brings home the championship. My friends if you have your hope in the Lord, you have already won the championship for this and the years to come.
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