Heads-Up Week 5: Enough is Enough

We've played online poker long enough to know some people will go all-in with anything, especially in the first few minutes of play. But when Jason Mercier went all-in on NBC today with 7-5 of clubs, it didn't seem right at all. It turned out to be fatal, as Scotty Nguyen had Jacks and eliminated him with ease.

The NBC commentators noted Mercier was well down in chips, and probably bet out of frustration. At times poker certainly can be a frustrating game -- although we wonder if it's any more frustrating than golf or bowling.

Perhaps you've become frustrated with life itself -- not simply big hands falling short, but big plans being stymied. Whatever those frustrated plans might have been, you may be surprised to learn it's all part of God's plan.

"For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it," says Romans 8:20. It's been God's will for humans since the sin of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 -- but why?

"....in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God" (Rom. 8:21).

God wants us to look for something beyond this life -- to be "freed.... from our sins" by the shed blood of Christ (Rev. 1:5), to eventually have freedom from death through the gift of eternal life.

So if you're frustrated by big pocket pairs getting cracked -- or anything bigger than that -- pray about it. And ask God to help you see the ultimate victory beyond human defeat.

(P.S. We'll have to skip next Sunday's final telecast, due to the Biblical festival of Pentecost. This article about the festival actually addresses our main topic here.)