To everyone who is victorious ( overcomes ) I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven.  Revelation 2:17 NLT

In the country area, where I was raised outside of Sault Ste Marie, we had the best hockey team in the locales surrounding us; most of the players were from the 2 small Baptist churches, which our Pastor served with.
A local Fireman Captain, Doug, was our player coach and his son also played with us; when we were losing, especially going into the third period, in the dressing room, he would look at us and say, we are going to overcome them in this period and you guys need to be resilient. I can only think of one time, when we were not able to come back and at least tie the game, if not win it. On the bench, each of us would intently say, “We are going to overcome them!”

As I personally shared in my last devotional on drifting, the subtleness of this pandemic drains our emotional energy tanks. Like a young hockey player, who needed to listen to my coach, now, I need to listen to my Heavenly Father, who has supernatural insight and block out the noise.

So… what does this mean? Let’s look at the words of Jesus, from Revelation 2: 17. Here are 2 brief points, yet the truths are supernatural.

1.    The word victorious or overcomes is the Greek word “nikao;” you will recognize that Nike used it for their sports branding. It can be translated to defeat, to master, to overcome, to be victorious and often used in Greek literature as a reference to athletes and warriors. It does not refer to a one -time event, rather, to a continuous action. Jesus is saying to us, to remain victorious.

In these Covid days, what obstacles are you facing that Jesus is urging you to stand firm and be an overcomer? It may be only known to you and the Lord. I suspect, for many, it is what you are fighting in your mind, fear, anxiety. This past week, someone shared with me, they felt under attack and had woken three times in the week with intense nightmares. I prayed with them and that night they slept soundly. Not because of me, rather, I asked God on their behalf to help them and also protect them. He did!
Your Heavenly Father is saying, who can you ask to pray with and for you? Coach Doug spoke into our situation and gave us insight; even with social distancing, who can do this for you? It is one way we can continually seek help to be an overcomer.

2.    If ever we need continuous overcoming, it is as we go into this fall; I know, how much I need it.
Jesus promised to give us sustenance to keep us strong and He promises “manna”. Now this is a huge topic, which this devotional cannot go deep on. However, here are 3 thoughts for you.
a) The word “manna” was first used in Exodus 16:4, when God rained down on the Israelites a supernatural bread like provision. It is a reference to how God provides daily.
b) In Psalm 78: 23-25, the psalmist tells us that the doors of heaven were opened, manna was rained down and it was the food of angels. It was daily and they were not to worry about tomorrow; He would provide. Those who did not take God at His word, found the manna to be filled with maggots the next day. The principle here was to trust God as the Supplier, not the supply.
c) It was angels’ food and whatever this means, we need to focus on the point, that it was divine, a heavenly touch 

Your Heavenly Father is saying trust Me for today, and this pandemic,  don’t worry about tomorrow. He will provide exactly what you and I need for today.

Allow me to be transparent here. I write these words and yet I know, I am struggling with the uncertainty of what this will mean for our church, for each of you and my family. For me, I have just added Revelation 2:17 to my “words that anchor me.” I am compiling a list of them over these weeks and months; why don’t you do the same.

I close with this point. The Israelites had to go out daily and gather this “angel food”. They had to be proactive. We also need to do the same, to come to His table. One way, I am acting on this is to have my list of “anchor verses” and also, when I need to just talk, I have a few people I go to and share how I am doing, and we pray together. My God is the same One who provided for about 3 million Israelites, over 40 years. If you do the math, that was probably close to 66 million tons of manna, which supernaturally appeared every morning. When I see what He did for 3 million people, I am confident what He will do for all of us and I am going into this fall with that confidence. Come with me!

By the way, it was at one of those hockey games, I met Denise and the rest is history; great history!

~Bruce