I laugh a little writing that title, right now. There’s not much that seems sure or certain. However, the Suncorp Super Netball Grand Final this afternoon has led me to reflect on that phrase.

You see, the match was two NSW teams going head to head: NSW Swifts Vs Sydney Giants. Of course, they were playing in Brisbane and have been on the road for 9 weeks now, so that the competition could continue during the current outbreak.

But, regardless of all that, for me, it didn’t matter what the result was at the end of the match today: it was already a win.

Historically, I support the Swifts. Way back when they first began in 1997, they were the Sydney Swifts. Then in 2008, they merged with a Hunter team to become a state team. In 2016, the ANZ Championship basically disbanded and Netball soon became sponsored by Suncorp. It was at this point that the Giants (who usually like their name written in full caps) entered the league.

Historically, I’m a Swifts girl. Geographically, with the location of their new home ground – just across the river – and recently attending events with the team, I’m also kinda a GIANTS girl too (there you go with the all caps 😉).

So it really didn’t matter who won today, because they were both “my team”. It was a sure and certain victory.

Is it just me, or is that something we all need right now? A win already in the bag, no matter what.

Is it just me again, or is that actually what the Christian life is like – all the time?

I know that’s something I struggle with, and I know this is something that HNAC Alison would struggle with also because you really can’t bank on anything in life, right? You can never be sure that you’ve “got it made”. That “everything’s going to be all OK in the end”.

Or can you?

For everyone born of God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.

That’s what The Bible says. It’s our faith that brings the victory, but what is faith? Unsurprisingly, The Bible has an answer for that one too.

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.

Confidence in what we hope for…

Assurance about what we do not see…

We don’t yet see the victory but we believe that it will be so. That’s not easy at times, because we live in the here and now. Yet, as Christians we continually – daily, even – need to remind ourselves that there will be a victory. No matter what happens, Jesus has already won.

How exactly?

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Oh, and for the record, it was Swifts 63 V Giants 59.

A sure and certain victory as far as I’m concerned.

It’s like Billy Graham said one time: “I’ve read the last page of The Bible. It’s all going to turn out alright.”

Faith keeps remembering that, even when life doesn’t feel like a victory. Regardless, the Christian life is meant to be a victorious one.

Yours in the victory,

Alison