Checkmate!

          I don’t know much, if anything, about the game of chess. I have never made much of an attempt over the years to try to understand how to play the game. However, recently, I read an interesting story about the game. In 1831 a German artist, Moritz August Retzsch, painted a picture where two players, Satan and a young man, were engaged in a game of chess. Satan looked on confidently as the young man, in a state of utter despair and confusion, realized he could make no other move as his king was almost completely surrounded by his opponent’s pieces. Checkmate! Game over! His opponent had won! The name of this piece was originally entitled, “The Chess Players” but was later called, “Checkmate.”
         Does this scene sound familiar? In real life, many times we feel as if our king has been taken. We have all faced situations I’m sure, and may be facing some now, where, like that young man, we feel trapped, surrounded, as if there is no way of escape. We have prayed, we have cried, we may have even given up on God, on all hope, because everything around us is screaming, “Game over!” The situation almost seems to be laughing at us telling us to give up, to give in, to just quit! But thankfully with God, no matter how bad things seem, there is ALWAYS hope!
         Believe it or not, this story continues with an additional account of a famous chess player, Paul Morphy, who in the late 1800s made a visit to Richmond, Virginia. There, a prominent man invited him to his home for a game of chess. During dinner, Morphy became engrossed in the exact same picture, “Checkmate,” which the man owned. At the end of dinner, he made the surprising announcement that he knew how to save the young man’s game. The chess game was set up exactly as in the picture and believe it or not it turned out that the king did indeed have one more move. Morphy was able to save the young man’s game!
         I parallel this story to a similar one in the Bible of the children of Israel as they faced the Red Sea. God had led them safely and triumphantly out of Egypt but along the way they found themselves in pretty much the same position as that young man’s king. They became trapped. They were facing a large body of water in front of them, mountains on either side and believe it or not, the Egyptians who had decided that they couldn’t do without them, were in hot pursuit behind them. There literally seemed to be no way of escape (Exodus 14:1-10).  
         At that point, God gave them a simple instruction: “Go forward” (v.15). He didn’t want them focusing on what was surrounding them, hindering them, He wanted them to trust His Word.
         How many times does God give us a Word but when circumstances and situations come our way, we seem to forget what He spoke to us? We become so engrossed in what is happening around us, just like the young man in the picture and just like Peter when he took his eyes off of Jesus and started focusing on the winds and the waves raging around him. The devil knows how to intimidate us, how to scare us to the point where like the young man in the picture we become scared and confused and just plain give up!                              Unfortunately, we tend to focus on what is trapping and paralyzing us.  But, as a child of God, the way out is ALWAYS there! Jesus is still the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). He is the way out! He is the Way Maker. He is able to create something out of nothing and He will create a way of escape when it is obvious there is none! That’s what God did with the Israelites. He led them into a trap and made a way out that was impossible for human ability to achieve. God wants to remind us that with man it is impossible but with Him all things are and will always be possible (Mark 10:27).
         As I write this, I am reminded of my own life. God would give me a Word but when situations and challenges come, I sometimes tend to focus on them instead of on His Word. That is when discouragement, fear, despair, the desperate temptation to quit, to give up, sets in. But, my God is so faithful and knows me so well, He knows exactly how to refocus my focus back to Him, back to His Word to me. And when I have put my eyes back on Him, I feel refreshed, energized, revived, motivated to keep going and to keep going His way not my own. God is THE way of escape and when you are His child, being trapped will NEVER be an option. So, be encouraged!
         If you have not asked Jesus to come into your life I encourage you to do so now. Life is filled with opportunities to trap us and to cause us to give up. But when you are nestled comfortably and safely in the Master’s care, you can rest assured that there will always be a way out. Your “king” will always have one more move...

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