Christ's Team Always Wins.

This theme has been protruding my thoughts for quite a while. I've been seeing in the scriptures that when we stay true to the Gospel and the commandments, we will always come off victorious because Christ is the Conqueror. Although we may not know what happens tomorrow or next year, we do know that good will overcome evil. Therefore, we can conclude that if we stay true to the good of the Gospel, we will all be winners.

This thought process came to fruition last night as I watched the BYU vs. Oklahoma game. I got really into the game and I think I probably surprised/scared away a few people. I have always been competitive by nature and I sure got worked up almost every second of that game. I would cheer, groan, complain, clap, smile, laugh, shake my hands in anger, jump up and down, and every other action you can imagine. It was a roller coaster of a game for those who watched it. And if you didn't watch it, it's okay because any game we watch in whatever venue we may be in, we see how the game can change in a matter of seconds.

Last night as I watched the game, I realized that my life is so much like this football game. There are moments when I am flying high (take 2 weeks ago) and I feel like nothing can stop me. Then oops, I fumble the ball or my pass in intercepted and all of a sudden I am no longer on top but on bottom. Officials make bad calls or someone gets injured and I see how the game is not going the way I thought it would or it should. Frustration crowds into my thoughts and I find myself thinking, "how is this ever going to work out? Am I going to win this? Will I get the ball back?" Yet, when all hope seems lost, a pass is made and caught, a break is made in the defensive line so I can get through, and I start to actually progress towards my goal. I feel invincible all over again. Then a few seconds, minutes, or a quarter passes and things shift. I am back to being the underdog and I have no hope of how this game of mine will work out.

Yet, if I contrast this game of life vs. a normal sporting game, there are some profound differences. In a normal sporting game, my favorite team (BYU) does not always win. There are disappointments and victories, but there is no assured outcome that they will become the National Champions or even components in the BCS. However, in my game of life I can be assured that I will win and that I will come off victorious.

In my game of life I struggle constantly and currently I am on bottom. I don't know how I will come out on top again. It feels like my football is constantly getting blocked, fumbled or intercepted. I feel like there are so many barriers and so many yards until I make it to my goal.

But this I know to be true: I am on Christ's team if I stay true to His rules and commandments. By covenanting myself to be on His team, I receive the reward that I will be a winner in the end. He has not promised me that this earthly game would be easy. In fact, He has told me that it would be a hard and difficult battle.

However, He has also told me that if I stay on His team, I will win, regardless of my many losses in my game of life. How grateful I am to know that as I stay true to the Gospel, I can be assured that ALL things will work out for my good and that I can obtain true happiness, peace, and comfort.

In other words, I will be a winner. And I love being a winner.