I’m a Cleveland Browns fan.  On most Sunday afternoons my tv will be tuned into the game.  But sometimes when the game gets frustrating, a nap sounds like a good alternative option.  But my mom and niece Dawn are diehard fans.  Here’s proof: One year they got tickets to go to a Steelers vs. Browns game, at Heinz Field.  It was one of those Sunday afternoons when the snow is falling relentlessly in a blizzard-type atmosphere and anyone even thinking of going to a game should have their head examined.  Yet Dawn and mom bundled up and covered all those layers with Brown’s coats, hats, and scarves.   As they boarded the downtown Pittsburg bus the place was packed with Steeler fans.  And every single one went silent when they saw the audacity of two orange and brown-dressed fans.  (Pause for awkward silence…)  Then finally the words, “Brown’s fans sit in the back.”  Can anyone relate to this? Are you the fan that will cheer for your team even if the odds are stacked against you?

What’s that about? One word: hope.  It doesn’t matter what’s happened in the past or even what the scoreboard says at the moment.  We still have a chance to win.  We will hope against hope that this is the season where our team shines.

In a similar way, we can have hope in our own lives when we need a personal breakthrough.  1 Corinthians 2:9, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.”  Are you in the middle of a tough time?  Take heart, because God is thinking about you.   His plans for you are beautiful.  From Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  So hang on, because there are better days ahead.  And turn on the game, because this is a new season, and this could be the one that changes everything.