There was a program on TV many years ago called Wide World of Sports.  In the opening segment a skier was shown skiing down a steep ramp with the intention of flying off the ramp like an eagle and then safely touching down to earth’s surface.  Well, in the clip shown, the skier goes sideways off the ramp and crashes into a snow fence barrier.  We then hear the announcement: “The thrill of victory, and the Agony of defeat”.

At the end of the civil war this proclamation would have signaled to a northerner “Victory”.  If you were a member of the Confederacy, it meant defeat.  The victory sounds were not as loud as the sound of relief that the war had ended.  Victory brings joy, relief, and inner peace.  Defeat on the other hand can sometimes leave us feeling less than adequate, or that we were not prepared well enough, or that it was just not to be.

I invite you to read the passages of 1 Corinthians 15:55-57, part of which reads; “Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”.  In the 2nd stanza of the hymn “Lift High the Cross”, we hear these words; “Come Christians follow where our Captain trod, our King victorious, Christ the Son of God”.  Christ has won and reigns victorious.  The other part of the equation is that Satan has been defeated.

The words of Psalm 98:4 is a good example of a victory song; “Shout joyfully to the Lord all the earth, break forth and sing for joy and sing praises”.  We do that as we gather together in worship, we do that when there may be only 2 or 3 gathered in a Bible study, or we do that privately in our devotions.

As we wait for our Lord to call us home, or if our Lord should come back while we are still here, may you be found faithful in proclaiming in Christ, the victory has been won.  What a celebration that will be.