From Matt Wiegand…

I have to tell you how impressed I was of the JFL Varsity football team a couple Saturdays ago.  Football is just a game, but a great one to teach young men how to work together, how to be tough physically and how to be tough mentally.  As rough as football can be, the coaches continually teach how important the mental part of the game is.

These 19 young men demonstrated on the football field how to be overcomers.  The opponent had many things going in their favor last Saturday.  The opponent had more players than the Hornets and they were bigger and probably faster than the Hornets.  Not to mention with 7 minutes left in the game, the Hornets were losing 24-14.

The Hornets hear a lot about how the game of football is 90% mental.  What they think about themselves, their teammates and how they go about the game can dictate the outcome on the scoreboard.

The coaches told the players with 7 minutes left to continue to believe in the team and that each player needed to give all they had to overcome the opponent.

I am happy to tell you, “they did it!”  The Hornets overcame.  They played well on offense, continued to block and run the ball hard.  A touchdown brought them to within  24-20 with about 5 minutes left.  The coaches continued to preach about overcoming, 1 play at a time.

On defense, they held the opponent to 3 plays and they  had to punt.  With about 3 minutes left the Hornets marched the ball down the field and scored with about a minute left in the game to take a lead 27-24.

With much drama, the opponent had a nice kickoff return and a long pass play to get them to within striking distance of scoring.  But with about 10 seconds left, a Hornet player who was beat a play earlier to give up a big pass play, overcame!  He reached high in the air to get an interception to end the game.  The young hornets were victorious 27-24.

A great football story that we all can use to apply to our lives from an example of 7^th and 8^th graders.

Of course, we all have the greatest example of Overcoming in the life of our Savior, Jesus.  We all live in a fallen world, but with faith in Jesus we all can overcome it.

What is going on in your life that you need to overcome?  Broken relationship?  Broken finances?  There is brokenness all around.

Reading 1 John 5:1-4 (ESV) I am encouraged by my “coach” and Father to be an overcomer like the Hornets.

1 John 5:1 – Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.  2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.  3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.  And his commandments are not burdensome.  4  For everyone who has been born of God OVERCOMES the world.  And this is the victory that has OVERCOME the world – our faith.  5  who is it that OVERCOMES the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

The Hornets had each other to rely on to overcome the challenge of the game.  Jesus gives all of us the ultimate teammate to overcome the game of life.

Life is too hard to play without Jesus!  Continue to ask him for the strength and courage to help you through your daily walk.  Over time, He will take the burdens and together you can Overcome!

Be Blessed!