1 – This is the sort of situation a competitor dreams about.

• We’re playing for a championship.
• All the events of this season and our combined character have lead us to this day.

2 – Suffering and success – they go together.

• Throughout this season we have experienced plenty of suffering.
  • Injuries, infections, illnesses
  • Disappointing losses
  • Players lost to other issues
• We have also experienced great success.
  • Big wins on the road
  • Players winning awards
  • Come from behind wins
  • Great achievements by the coaching staff
  • A conference championship
• Suffering and success have been closely linked.  That is normal and even proper.

3 – I see a similar situation in Romans 8:18 (read the text aloud).

• By comparison, the suffering is far surpassed by the success!
• The enduring success totally eclipses momentary suffering.

4 – Examples from this team’s life:

• The pain of pre-season conditioning is far outweighed by the thrill of powerful second-half comebacks.
• The worry and anxiety related to a teammate’s illness or injury is greatly surpassed by the joy of seeing him restored to our team.
• The discomfort from injuries, concussions, infections, and illness pales in comparison when laid along side the victory we’ll achieve this evening.

5 – I encourage you to view this day’s pain and suffering as investments in the victory that awaits us.  Make those investments again today and we’ll celebrate our success together.

This resource provided by Roger D. Lipe
lipe@earthlink.net
www.sifca.org