The first two rounds of the NFL Playoffs in 2020 featured many high-profile athletes who are self-proclaimed followers of Jesus Christ. God was really in a bind – how does He allow (or cause, depending on your theology) one believer to win and another to lose? Or even tougher, where is God when a player gets injured in the first quarter and misses almost the entire playoff game, like Eagles’ QB Carson Wentz?
Some who are reading this might be thinking, God has more important things to do than concern Himself with the results of a game that only a few will remember in a very short time. God does not have to prioritize his “concerns” like we do – He is omnipresent and omnipotent. That means He is all-powerful in a football stadium at the same time He is all-powerful in your home and at your child’s school and in your loved one’s hospital room and…
If God is involved in our lives, including our games, jobs, and relationships (and I believe He is) then how does He choose who “wins” when it means one of His children has to “lose?” Consider this, what if the score on the scoreboard at the end of a game is not the true measure of God’s care or love or even of who wins? To see a Biblical example of this let’s look briefly at Joseph in Genesis…
According to the “scoreboard” Joseph lost big time when his own brothers trafficked him to slave traders (Genesis 37). Fast forward to Genesis 50:20 where Joseph, after many years and countless tears, tells his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
God desires to use the winning, losing and injuries in our lives to guide us to where He knows we need to be. In Joseph’s life, God even used the cruel actions of his brothers to guide Joseph to Egypt. And I believe He even does this on Sunday afternoons in the NFL. God desires to guide us to what He knows is best for us. Our role is to seek Him and cooperate with His will – then we can “win” every time for the glory of our loving Father.
Disclaimer: I humbly submit that when I stand before Jesus I may say many times, “Oh, is that what You mean by that verse?” This discussion is bigger than can be covered in these 400 words. If you want to dig deeper read, Does God Care Who Wins? By Bob Schindler.
