“And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than we first believed.” Romans 13:11
The country of Iceland was a huge sensation in the Euro 2016. This was the European version of the World Cup.
Iceland has only a population of 330,000 people. That’s the size of a small city in a big country. The country is cold, and the grass wouldn’t grow well on soccer fields. They only have 100 professional soccer players. They had never passed the qualifying stage in the past. But you know what happened that year? This small country managed to join the Euro 2016 by winning in the qualifying stage. Also, they won games in the group stage, advancing to the round of 16. From there, they beat England (one of the best teams in the world) and then advanced to the quarterfinals. Their journey ended, thereby losing to France. They called it a miracle.
How did this happen? One commentator said that Iceland started preparing 15 years ago. They started investing in their infrastructure, investing in leaders and players, and building indoor soccer arenas so that they could practice. Of course, this infrastructure was still small compared to bigger countries with strong teams. Yet Iceland was determined. They were determined to win and advance. Hence the whole world had witnessed this miracle.
This shows certain spiritual implications for us. We must be prepared. Our growth cannot happen all of a sudden. It takes time and commitment. But we must be prepared for that moment. We must be determined. We call it faith. Unlike Iceland, Jesus has done all the important work. We have to have faith in Jesus that we can win.