When a flag is thrown on the field of play, the offending team is assessed a penalty, and as a consequence, loses some of the ground it has gained. While this is a brief setback, if the players on the field continue to disobey the parameters of the game, then the opposing team will keep the advantage.
Though the home team thought it knew how to play the game well, sadly, it is relying on outdated strategies to compete against these fiercer opponents, as this rival team won’t be defeated by using the same line formations that were successful in the past. Yet because of this insistence to hold on to the same tired old playbook, multiple errors have been made by the home team, thereby giving yardage away to their opponents. Although the rival team has earned a reputation for being cheaters, most of the fumbling on the field is due to errors in judgment, and not the enemy’s interference, for the home team has taken up the wrong position on the field, setting itself with a disadvantage even before the starting whistle blew.
And so, while the home team was content to resume the game right where it left off, their opposition was already several plays ahead, planning an “end run” in an attempt to seize control of the entire field. Yet to block the enemy’s advance requires players who only see themselves as winners, those who would not settle for giving up even an inch of ground to their opponent.
Sensing this to be the case, the Coach has sent in a ‘special team’ out onto the field during this new quarter, for He knows that, in order to win, a different approach is needed to break through the enemy’s defensive line. And since these players have carefully adhered to the Coach’s instructions, their efforts shall cause the game to shift, with not only a recovery of yardage lost, but also advancing the offensive line further down the field. Because this special team was assembled of those players who didn’t rush ahead based on assumption, but waited until they had heard which play was to be run before entering the field, these players are better equipped to tackle whatever maneuver the rival team throws their way.
And so it is that through this special team the victory shall be ushered in, for these individuals would not yield to doubt and weariness, but have remained faithful to the contest even when it has seemed they are the only ones heeding the Coach’s directives.
Then let these saints be encouraged this day, for it is the remnant who closely walk with Me that shall be the catalyst for the coming revival, and for seeing this nation delivered from her enemies.
So then, stay true to this calling. In due time you shall see what I have promised come to pass.
“Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, we will listen to and honor the voice of the Lord our God to whom we are sending you, so that it may go well with us when we listen to the voice of the Lord our God.” -Jeremiah 42:6