The Long Game – Part 1

The long game. What does that even mean? Below are some of my thoughts on this phrase. But first, a personal note.

Many thanks to those of you who prayed for me while I worked on getting my website glitch fixed. The correct subscribe form is back, email addresses are found, and all’s right with my website world for now!

I posted the following a few days ago, but the glitch and the fix kept these words from sending or even remaining on my blog. With the site fixed, I’m reposting part 1 now, with more to come later.

Like my website issues, troubles in the short game can cause us humans to lose hope. Where was I to go for help? The people I asked had no solution for me. The efforts I made on my own were futile. But God knew my need and answered my prayer as He nudged me toward a group of web designers who I was told might know enough to fix my problem. And that is where our help lies, in the power and wisdom of the Almighty.

Somewhere between my 3rd and 4th call to the web design group, conversing with a different agent each time, a thought came to me that opened a door to the solution I needed. Had I ignored God’s nudge or stopped after the 1st or 2nd call, I still would be frustrated and left with a broken site. Instead, my problem is fixed, and I learned much in the process.

Sometimes it’s not about the end, it’s about the journey. Thank God He knows what we need and when we need it.

After you read the following post, feel free to share your thoughts. In Part 2, we’ll dig deeper. For now, blessings as you watch God work in your world. Remember, He’s busy playing the long game for us all.

God Plays The Long Game

Our God doesn’t look for instant gratification. He plays the long game. A very long game.

The phrase, “the long game,” came to mind a few weeks ago. It may have been on a walk as I thought about friends dealing with tough life situations. Or maybe it came when I watched young people graduating high school and wondered about their future. Or maybe it was when I read Scripture that spoke of a God who uses the word “long-suffering” to describe Himself. The same God who often seems to be silent when we humans want something now!

According to Allison E. McWilliams, PhD, “Playing the long game means taking the necessary steps, now, to set yourself up for long-term success.” If you check out the urban dictionary instead of Psychology Today, you might read, “The saying playing the long game refers to active participation in achieving goals which may take some time.”

I personally would never know long-term success had it not been for parents, teachers, and church leaders in my life. I didn’t have life goals as a youth and wasn’t one to think in terms of “down the road.” I needed others who saw beyond what I could see to push me along the way.

Today, I’m still pretty much an in-the-moment type of soul. Looking ahead isn’t easy for me. Thankfully, God looks far ahead. Working on our behalf even more than parents, teachers, and church leaders, God knows what works for our good, and He plays the long game for us.

How Do We Know God Plays The Long Game?

Whenever we want to know truth about the God of the universe, we need to go back to His word. Scripture shares multiple stories that help us see how the Almighty works in our world.

Abraham

Remember Abraham? The one who left his home as Abram, to travel to an unknown destination because he heard God speak to him? God promised to make Abram into a great nation. But Abram was 75 when he left Haran for Canaan, and by the time he was 99, he and his wife Sarai didn’t have a single child.

Abram and Sarai believed God enough to leave family and friends for a place unknown but lost faith when years went by without evidence of God’s promised descendants. They took matters into their own hands, and Abram had a child with Sarai’s slave, Hagar.

Sadly, we humans too often think we need to help God out. Our patience is short; we expect to see answers to prayers and promises immediately. We think in terms of man years and forget our God plays the long game.

Time Between God’s Promise and It’s Fulfillment

When Abram was 100 and Sarai was 90, God made a covenant with Abram, changing his name to Abraham. God renewed His promise to Abraham that he would “become the father of many nations.” (Genesis 17:5) God then changed Sarai’s name to Sarah and promised that she would bear Abraham a son (Genesis 17:15-16). God had not changed His mind. He made a promise years earlier and planned to fulfill that promise exactly as stated.

When Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah the following year, as old as they were, there was no doubt God was responsible. From Isaac came a multitude, a nation. And God’s word was fulfilled. Abraham eventually became the father of many nations, but it happened in God’s timing, not man’s.

God Is Willing to Wait

How many of us are willing to wait 25 years to see a promise come to pass? Or thousands of years for a covenant to be fulfilled?

We aren’t told God’s reasons for waiting to fulfill His promise to Abram. But we can see that God was playing a long game, not a short one. How hard it is for us humans to patiently wait on God to bring events about in His timing.

What Does This Mean For Me?

Scripture reminds us that God’s ways are not our ways. His timing and ours are not the same. God is faithful and will fulfill all He has promised. When those promises will be fulfilled may not be when we think they should be, but the fulfillment will come at exactly the right moment.

Can we trust the Father with our present? Can we believe that He sees our tomorrows and has our best interests at heart as we walk through today? Absolutely! Our view is short yet we often think it is the best and only view there is. Thankfully, God’s view is eternal, and His heart is good.

May each of us live today in faith, trusting the God who made us. He has promised to be with us always, to never leave us or forsake us. He sees us now, and He sees our future. His view is not short, and His love is eternal.

We can trust Jehovah. He plays the long game on our behalf.

(Photos: Taken by Carolyn Thigpen, June, 2021, Tribble Mill Park, GA, USA)