Change from being doubters to believers

At 8.50pm last Thursday night I was sitting with my head in my hands in total disbelief.

I was seriously considering shutting down my Facebook account and deleting all my contacts in the world of social media. The last time I had experienced such emotions was a night back in May 2005 when Liverpool were 3-0 doenin the Champions League final. This time Liverpool were 2-0 down and getting a football lesson from Dortmund. Normally if Liverpool are getting beaten I can be tempted to change channels or turn off the TV. On Thursday I was consumed with doubts, why had I travelled all afternoon, struggled through the airport and agreed to share a room with two confirmed snorers. Why was my world fast crumbling as I sat in the Centenary stand at Anfield.

I was sitting next to a retired taxi driver from Rosemount who tried to sing during one of the most moving renditions of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. For his own sake and for those sitting next to him he should have simply listened. The man from Rosemount reached the seats first and I simply sat beside him. Listening to the tone deaf Derry man I started to take photos and videos of the crowd and then proceeded to poison everyone with the images on Facebook. Unfortunately my endeavours were interrupted when two men arrived before kick off and told us we were sitting in their seats. I protested and tried to explain we couldn’t be and got out the tickets to prove my point only to discover we were indeed in the wrong seats. It took me ages to clamber over into the next row of seats and I tried to help the elderly Derry man but he was moving so slowly I thought it was a DLA board. At half time my only consolation was not having to listen to my companion singing again.

How wrong I was, very wrong. What unfolded was incredible and when Liverpool scored the winner deep into injury time the stadium shook. The roar was deafening as I jumped up and down with delight. Before I knew it I was hugging the two complete strangers in front on me, whose seats I had tried to occupy. As for my neighbour from Rosemount I managed to wreck his back as be had to bend down too far when I tried to hug him. He’ll have no trouble getting the DLA now. I don’t know what was said by the Liverpool manager at half-time, or how he got the players to respond to his words. At his initial press conference Jurgen Klopp explained how the players and supporters had to change from being doubters to believers. In the space of six months the manager is changing mindsets, people are beginning to believe. In all of our relationships with family, friends and all people we know we have the opportunity to change people from doubters to believers. If despite all our worries, fears and problems we can show we still put our trust in God, people will take notice. We have om allow our relationship with Jesus to change our lives. If we truly believe in Jesus then anything is possible, for we won’t be governed by our fears. Instead we will become more like the Good Shepherd as we listen to his voice and he helps us share with all people God’s compassion and generosity.