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As Fantasy Football owners, we can’t wait to watch the action on the field and see how good our players look this season.
Until then, we have to settle for preseason games without key starters, training camp reports from team beat writers, and sound bites from coaches and players.
Each day, headlines are displayed on Fantasy websites, and push notifications are sent to our phones with new information about our Fantasy players.
With mostly secondhand information, we’re left to predict what might happen this year based on what coaches and media members relay to us.
There’s a challenge in knowing what the truth is as we try to determine what we actually believe will happen once the season starts.
Which quarterbacks are going to win the QB battles and be named the starter?
Are wide receivers going to contribute as much as we’re being led to believe?
What players are truly injured or just slightly banged up?
This time of year is when coaches hype up specific players and even promise roster spots, but then end up cutting them a couple of weeks later.
Since coaches end up misleading about how well certain players are doing during camp, as Fantasy Football owners, this often leads to us making mistakes during the draft.
We try to decipher between the lies and the "coach speak" to determine whether or not we should draft those players. With coaches and media members making proclamations and promises that some guys are in store for a big year, we decide whether or not to buy in and believe them.
The reality is, however, that much of what we’re hearing now won’t pan out to be true. That, of course, will lead to Fantasy owners becoming disappointed because they were told something false during training camp.
Whether it’s reading Fantasy Football headlines or news headlines, we’re fed countless lies and misinformation. It’s hard to know who to trust and what to believe.
That’s why, as followers of Jesus, we have to cling to the promises of God and the hope we have in Him. When we place too much faith in anyone else, we’re often left very disappointed.
Even though coaches and media members may lead us to believe something that turns out to be untrue or other people in our lives let us down, we can’t let that stop us from the assurance of God’s Word being true.
He never lies, He is faithful, and we can fully trust in His goodness. He delivers on His promises and we can trust His character and everything He says.
Hebrews 6:17-19 (NLT) reminds us that, “God also bound Himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that He would never change His mind. So God has given both His promise and His oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie."
“Therefore, we who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.”
When we surrender our lives to Jesus and receive salvation, God doesn’t change His mind. So even if the world lies to us every day, we remain confident and filled with hope as we cling to the promise that our sins are forgiven and our eternity is secure in Christ.
Today, let’s soak in this powerful promise found in Deuteronomy 7:9 (NLT): ”Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps His covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes His unfailing love on those who love Him and obey His commands.”
I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I praise You for Your unchanging character and Your never-ending faithfulness. I cling to Your promises and trust Your Word. My soul is anchored in You and I’m filled with hope and confidence because of Jesus. In His name, I pray, Amen.
Discussion Questions for PACKS and FFF Leagues:
Does anything cause you to question God’s character or His Word?
Why is it so important to believe that God never lies and His promises are trustworthy?