Victory lies before Him in the night watch when dreamers dream. Triumph waits to reward Him as the dawn strikes to hail the sun. Long after the final scene ends, God is still warring to win for you.

Impossible is never impossible for God. With odds stacked against you, God rises up to meet the challenge. With elements against you, God inclines to prove He will not be defeated. Do not fear, Beloved. God never loses.

“But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.” 2 Corinthians 2:14

Align with God and let Him lead you into victory.

Hope. Faith. Expectancy. Urgency. Anticipation. Confidence. Resilience. Jesus spreads imminence of the Kingdom of God touching down after the fourth quarter is over. The story is not over until God says it is over. God wins in overtime.

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9

God’s patience makes room for all to choose their King. To choose their lover. When the time for reaping has ended, Jesus appears again to claim His own into Heaven forever.

Jesus wins after the fans have already left the stadium. After the ending appears to be set in stone. After the final credits role. God always has another tactic up His sleave to provoke a victory that outlasts history.

“So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.” John 11:6

Jesus waited when the agony intensified. He needed the aching to erupt into a final calamity for Him to show up in greatest power. So, Jesus purposely sends the situation into overtime so that He can accomplish a brighter ending for all involved.

“So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” John 11:3-4

Jesus wants to come in overtime.

Jesus is glorified when we are lovesick for Him. When we are desperate for Him to come. When we are aching for His presence to culminate.

When the family sent word that Lazarus was ill, Jesus sent a message back to inform them: this will not end in death. Jesus desires our love to be anchored in His supernatural power more than His natural power.

Here in John 12, Jesus works a miracle of epic proportions when he raises Lazarus from the dead. In overtime. After a man had already died. After the family had already given up hope. After days had passed in grieving the loss of their beloved brother Lazarus. Where was Jesus? they thought. Didn’t He love us? they asked. Jesus’ love drives everything He does.

When Jesus desires to move wondrously in our life, He stretches our faith in the process.

We must be willing to let Jesus be in charge of story’s timeline.

The family would have been puzzled when Lazarus died because it contradicted what Jesus said. But when Jesus arrives and heals Lazarus from the dead, they will know without a doubt who He is: God.

God comes to reveal His power as God.

“When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” John 11:43-44

Cinderella stories are Jesus’ specialty.

Never underestimate His power.

Expect God to do a breath-taking miracle. A stunning marvel. A awe-inspiring wonder. Your life is precious to Him. He never stops orchestrating ways to love you greater.

God is victorious forever.

“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Corinthians 15:57