IT IS NOT OVER...

Dearly Beloved, IT IS NOT OVER... “Sarah said, ‘God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.’ And she added, ‘Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age’” (Genesis 21:6-7 NIV). The final of the year 2014 UEFA Champions League has come and gone, but it has one major lesson: It is not over until it is over. I did not have the opportunity of watching the epic football match live, but I was monitoring its minute-by-minute comments on the UEFA official website and what people were saying through their display messages on my BBM timeline. Almost everybody (including the fans of Real Madrid FC) had thought that Club Atlético de Madrid had won the match when the team was leading by a lone goal as at ninety minutes of the match. In fact, the comment of one of my BBM contacts around ninety minutes of the match was remarkable. He commented that he was expecting to see how Cristiano Ronaldo would cry at the end of the match. Interestingly, Ronaldo missed many opportunities to score during the course of the regular time of the match. However, at ninety three minute of added time, Sergio Ramos equalized for Real Madrid FC and thus forced the match to extra time when three other goals were scored by Real Madrid including a last-minute penalty kick by Ronaldo. Real Madrid FC was crowned the new European champions and Ronaldo by that penalty kick created a new record in goal scoring in UEFA Champions League. Indeed, it is not over until it is over. Nobody, including Abraham and Sarah, ever thought that Sarah would have a biological child after ninety years of age. They (Abraham and Sarah) even doubted God when God told them that she would have a son “about this time next year” (Genesis 18:10 NIV). However, “at the very time God had promised him” (Genesis 21:2 NIV), Sarah gave birth to a son. She later testified, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age" (Genesis 21:7 NIV). Elizabeth made similar testimony: "The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people" (Luke 1:25 NIV). It is not over until it is over. Are you at the verge of losing hope on a particular situation? Do not lose hope! It is not over until it is over. When there is life, there is hope. At the unexpected time, the Lord will arise and surprise you. People that have been looking down on you will soon be looking up to you. You will soon testify to the goodness of God over your life. In His service, Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor).