Yesterday, January 10th, 2026 was a typical day here, weather-wise in Chicago: cold, cloudy, with a chance of light snow. The Chicago Bears were the home underdogs in a playoff game against the Green Bay Packers. More a fan of snacks and snuggling up than sports, I had just traded watching the game for reading a book when at halftime we were doing our typical losing, 3-21. But just as I was putting on my pajamas, apparently “The Monsters of the Midway” pulled off a win! After hearing the thunderous cheers and claps of my neighbors next door, I fumbled the remote and quickly turned my tv on, shocked at the 31-27 comeback. Seeing was in fact, believing.
Life can become mundane. If we’re not careful, we can lose our hopes, our dreams, ourselves in relationships. But God is close to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit (Proverbs 34:18). More than half of our time here on earth can seemingly pass us by and He can still turn things around. Enter Abraham and Sarah. In Genesis 12, God told Abram (later Abraham) to leave his native country and relatives. God promised to bless Abraham and all others through Abraham: He established a covenant to give a great nation, land, fame…a major win, if you will. In true Real Housewives of Canaan fashion, Abraham’s wife, Sarai (later Sarah), attempted an impatient interception when she had Abraham first sleep with her maidservant Hagar (chapter 16) in order to have a son (Ishmael). But this wasn’t God’s goal, His chosen heir. It wasn’t until chapter 21 when Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 that their first son, Isaac was born. This story is about Abraham and Sarah, but also our need to bear down–to practice obeying, trusting and believing, to run the play that God has set before us. It is about God’s faithfulness, even when we fumble.
In the game of life we have choices to make. We can get stuck in the past, running a replay of our mistakes over and over again. We can get caught up in the present, harboring unforgiveness and focusing on the fouls committed against us by others. We may even laugh and doubt the future, God’s ability to complete what He started in us (Philippians 1:6). But the best plan is to surrender to His… to practice believing, even when we can’t see.
