The LORD is good, a stronghold in a day of distress; he cares for those who take refuge in him. Nahum 1:7
Being a Chicago Bears fan has not been easy. Except when they won the Super Bowl in 1985, I have watched them enter the season with high hopes and finish the regular schedule with excuses. I’ve watched this happen year after year. As I said, it’s not been easy, but I am still a hopeless Bears fan.
Years ago, when we lived in Nashville, I was checking out the Sunday afternoon NFL fare, and I discovered that the Bears’ game was being televised in Tennessee, something that rarely happened. It’s a good thing they’re playing last year’s divisional champions, I whispered. Otherwise, I’d never get to see them. Anyway, imagine the fun I had watching my old team again.
Only a few minutes into the game, I discovered something: I hardly recognized a single player. Sure, the uniforms were exactly the same—the familiar blue and white with orange trim. But I hardly recognized the names of any of the men on the field.
What an interesting thing, I remember thinking, being a fan essentially means cheering for uniforms! Yelling and screaming for clothing. Go blue. Go white. Go orange. Go Bears, whoever you are.
The first six verses of Nahum tell us what it’s like to be wearing the wrong uniform—to be God’s opponent: “The LORD takes vengeance and is fierce in wrath. . . . The mountains quake before him. . . . His wrath is poured out like fire; even rocks are shattered before him” (vv. 2, 5–6). This sounds like a charging linebacker I’d prefer to avoid.
And then Nahum gives us a sense of how it feels to be the home team: “The LORD is good, a stronghold in a day of distress; he cares for those who take refuge in him” (v. 7). There are many things you and I do that identify us as God’s children—players, if you will, on His squad. Certainly, membership in a church is an important one. This is a must. If you haven’t done so already, join a fellowship close to your home and get involved.
How you talk also gives people a glimpse of your “uniform.” Players who love theirteam and their coach are always saying good things, even when they’re not prompted. Loyal players even look forward to practice because they know their chances on the field are always enhanced with repetition, conditioning, and lots of self-discipline.
The Bible calls this team “the body of Christ.” In sports terms, it means that those of us who call God our Father are automatically issued a new appreciation for God’s ongoing grace, a new set of values, rearranged priorities, a heightened sensitivity to our own sinfulness, and a desire for right living. This “uniform” marks us as His people.
You and I have the chance to wear this uniform every day. We can wear it with confidence, just as the Bears wore theirs in 1985. And your family can also be identified with your heavenly Father. Make sure each of your children or stepchildren, regardless of their age, has an outfit of their own. These uniforms come in all sizes.