Episode 247 – Temporary Defeat, Permanent Victory
Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God.
Script Notes:
[The king said] “We will never find a better man than Joseph, a man who has God's spirit in him… you have greater wisdom and insight than anyone else. I will put you in charge of my country ... .
Genesis, chapter 41, verses 37 through 40. Good News Translation

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VK: Hello! Welcome to another episode of Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m Victoria K in the studio and today we’re going to do something a little different on Anchored by Truth. Today we’re going to interrupt the series that we began a couple of episodes ago to focus on a news story that has been particularly important in our home broadcasting community of Tallahassee, Florida. As just about everyone knows Tallahassee is the home of Florida State University which down through the years has had a notable football program. And in 2023 the football team had a particularly noteworthy year under head football coach Mike Norvell who was in his 4th season with the team. The team won their first 13 games in a row and was so highly ranked nationally that they fully expected to play in the Bowl Championship Series. Playing in that series would have given Coach Norvell and his players an excellent opportunity to become the national champions. But … that’s when the story changed. So, to talk about what came next and why we wanted to discuss this on Anchored by Truth RD Fierro, the Founder of Crystal Sea Books is back in the studio. RD, talking about news events is not something we normally do on Anchored by Truth. So, why this story and why now?
RD: Well, you’re absolutely right that this is a departure from what we normally talk about on Anchored by Truth. Anchored by Truth is the only radio show that we know of that focuses exclusively on demonstrating the inspiration, inerrancy, and infallibility of scripture. But the reason we do that is because we want people to know that the Bible is a reliable resource (the only absolutely sure resource) to guide their faith, lives, and Christian practice. But the Christian faith is not a sterile faith. It’s not a faith that is meant to be lived out in a vacuum or be disconnected from the real world and daily life. The Christian faith is a faith that recognizes and looks forward to eternity but is lived out through a daily life that serves others while proclaiming God’s eternal truth. And part of living out our daily lives is encountering and overcoming obstacles and challenges. And that’s why I thought it was important for us to talk about what went on with the FSU football team in 2023. There has been a lot of “ink spilled” about what happened with the team but I thought in all the clamor and discussion some key thoughts weren’t being given much coverage.
VK: In other words, you thought that too little attention was being focused on some important insights that come to us from our Christian faith about what happened with the team. I mentioned a second ago that after winning 13 games in a row, including their conference championship, FSU had a very reasonable expectation of being invited to play in the series that leads to the national championship. But that invitation never came did it?
RD: No, it didn’t. And the decision by the committee that issues the invitations to the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) has received a lot of comment and criticism. And it’s received enough comment and criticism that I don’t think we need to spend much time on it today.
VK: Well, I know we don’t want to spend too much time on the invitation committee’s actions but I do think a couple of the things you wrote in response to a question from one of our friends is worthy of being repeated on this show. You wrote, “[The committee has] taught the FSU players that privileged people will abuse their privileges to obtain more privilege - and that those who are still aspiring can expect nothing from people of privilege unless what they offer will benefit those people of privilege. [The committee has] taught the FSU players that people in positions of trust are capable of far greater and more sinister betrayals than ordinary mortals - so they should pledge to themselves that if they are ever in a position of trust they will do better for others than was done for (to) them. “[The committee has also] taught the FSU players that success in life isn't just a matter of hard work and individual/team effort. Your goals can be and are easily and whimsically thwarted by powerful people. But those people can't define your response to their thwarting. Only you can.”
RD: Yes. I’m not naive. I’m well aware that BCS invitation committee offered what they considered a reasonable rationale for why FSU should have been excluded from the final four teams while 2 teams who had lost a game deserved inclusion. But unfortunately the final selections just called to my mind 1 Timothy, chapter 6, verse 10.
VK: In the New International Version that verse says, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
RD: Yes. Only the invitation committee members themselves know why they made the decision they did. Their decisions are between them and God and God knows the truth no matter what public statements were made. And that’s part of what I wanted to do today was – in the midst of the all the public comments and clamor – to redirect our attention to our God who is sovereign over all the affairs of humanity and history.
VK: Well, just to complete the background for those people who may not have paid a lot of attention to this story, after FSU did not get an invitation to the BCS a number of FSU players elected not to participate in the Orange Bowl, the bowl game to which FSU was invited. Actually, more than 2 dozen players, many of whom were “starters” opted out. They either decided to turn professional or enter what is now called the “transfer portal.” Without a lot of key players available FSU then proceeded to lose in the Orange Bowl by a pretty lopsided margin.
RD: Right. So, of course that big loss caused another round of consternation and criticism. Some of the criticism was directed at the players who elected not to play. Some was directed at the system that makes it more attractive for some players not to play than to play in a game. And some was directed at the coaches. While I understand the reason the criticism would occur I’m not going to comment on any of that because I would rather point to the people I consider to be the heroes in this whole situation.
VK: And I think that that is surprising – that you could find any heroes in a situation that seemed to go steadily downhill ever since FSU secured its 13th win in a row?
RD: And that’s why I felt compelled to do this special episode of Anchored by Truth – which I am calling Temporary Defeat, Permanent Victory.
VK: Temporary defeat and permanent victory is not a mindset that most of the world embraces. What are you thinking about?
RD: In God’s providence there are a lot of times in life when He permits His people to suffer defeat because He is going to use that temporary defeat to prepare that person for a permanent victory.
VK: And, of course, one of the classic examples of that phenomenon in the Bible is the story of Joseph which is told in Genesis, chapters 37 through 50. That’s 14 chapters in the Bible. That is a large number of chapters in which one person is the primary focus.
RD: Right. Everyone knows the story of Joseph. He had two dreams in which he say his brothers and parents bowing down to him. That was odd since Joseph was the 11th son in line out of 12. His brothers were so irritated by this that they sold Joseph into slavery. But more than a decade later the dream came true when the brothers had to go to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph who had become the 2nd most powerful person in the kingdom.
VK: And we heard about Pharaoh promoting Joseph in our opening scripture. Joseph endured slavery, captivity, false accusations, and being forgotten for over a decade before God finally sent him to interpret a dream for Pharaoh. That interpretation caused Pharaoh to promote Joseph to being the number 2 person in Egypt. So, when Joseph’s brothers had to go to Egypt to buy grain because there was a famine in Palestine they did indeed literally bow down to Joseph. They had sold Joseph into slavery but that temporary setback for Joseph did not prevent God from using Joseph in a powerful way. The temporary defeat did not limit God’s ability to provide permanent victory.
RD: Exactly. And we see that same situation in the book of Esther. Esther is a Jew but through the advice she receives from her uncle Mordecai she becomes the wife of a Persian Emperor. While she’s the queen, though, one of the emperor’s advisors, a wicked man named Haman, entices the emperor to issue an order that all of the Jews in the empire are to be killed. Mordecai tells Esther that God raised her up “for such a time as this.” So, at the risk of her life Esther intervenes for her people and Haman’s plan is defeated and Haman himself is executed. This episode in their national history is still celebrated as a holiday called Purim by Jewish people.
VK: So, again we see that God transformed a temporary defeat into a permanent victory. Haman hated Mordecai and therefore hated the Jews. Haman thought he had won when he enticed the king to issue an ill-advised edict to murder all the Jews in the kingdom. But God is sovereign, not man.
RD: And another example of temporary defeat, but permanent victory that we see in scripture is in the life of Elijah. And interestingly enough the defeat we hear about for Elijah came about after the tremendous victory that God gave him when he faced down 850 false prophets on the top of Mount Carmel. A lot of people may not realize that after God demonstrated his power by burning up Elijah’s bull Elijah became so discouraged and disillusioned he actually asked God to kill him.
VK: Here are a few verses from 1 Kings, chapter 19, verses 1 through 4 in the Amplified Version. “Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets [of Baal] with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ‘So may the gods do to me, and even more, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like the life of one of them.’ And Elijah was afraid and arose and ran for his life … [Elijah] said, ‘It is enough; now, O LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.’” Wow. That’s amazing. Elijah had just seen God defeat 850 false prophets but now he’s so afraid of one woman that he flees into the desert and asks God to take his life.
RD: And all that says is that even the best among us will have our moments of discouragement and doubt. And sometimes our greatest defeat may have followed a great victory. But our God does not abandon us because of our defeats, doubts, or disillusionment. God had other work for Elijah to do and God strengthened Elijah so he could do it. And God started that next phase of Elijah’s work by reminding Elijah that even though he felt like he was alone, he was not. In verse 18 God told Elijah that there were “7,000 [survivors] in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed down to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.” And God followed Elijah’s disillusionment with the greatest victory possible. God took Elijah to heaven without Elijah passing through physical death. Elijah had a profound temporary defeat but an unsurpassed permanent victory.
VK: So, we see that there is a clear pattern in the Bible – that for the men and women of the Bible who have faith – defeat is not permanent. Temporary defeats are often followed by victories.
RD: And you can see another example of this pattern in the life of ancient Israel’s greatest king, King David. David had served faithfully in the household of the king who preceded him, Saul, until Saul became jealous of David’s rising fame. Saul then chased David into the wilderness and tried to kill him on multiple occasions. Naturally, all that wickedness on Saul’s part was silly and fruitless. God had already told them that David was going to become the king of Israel after Saul and he did. But even after he became king David experienced another temporary defeat when his son, Absalom, led a revolt against him. Initially the revolt succeeded and David was driven out of Jerusalem. But David was God’s king and Absalom died during the course of God restoring David to the throne.
VK: And, of course, the greatest example in the Bible, the greatest example possible, of a temporary defeat that led to permanent victory was Jesus’ death on the cross. The forces of wickedness, both human and demonic, had seen clear evidence that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Jesus had fulfilled dozens of prophecies that showed that Jesus was God’s anointed Savior. Yet, their hatred of God and Jesus was so great that they induced Pontius Pilate to execute Jesus. They probably thought that Jesus’ death on the cross had solved their problems and defeated God’s plan. But, as you just said, that was silly and fruitless. Jesus gave the ultimate proof that he was the prophesied Messiah when He walked out of the tomb and defeated death itself. Aren’t we all grateful that God grants victory to those who trust Him no matter what the world may be claiming at any particular moment?
RD: Exactly. And that brings us back to FSU’s loss in the Orange Bowl. It was clearly a temporary defeat but we have yet to see whether that temporary defeat will yield to a permanent victory. I believe it will for two groups – or rather one group and one special individual. So, here’s a personal observation . The year I was a senior at West Point our football team didn’t win a single game. Needless to say it was a hard year for the Corps of Cadets and an even harder year for the team, especially my classmates, the seniors. Yet, a very large number of my classmates went on to notable successes – not just in the military but also in law, medicine, diplomacy, industry, and a host of other professions. And I read a testimony of one of my classmates who was on that team where he credited much of his success later in life to that crucible – that horrible no win season. Because even though that year the team didn’t win any games that year he noted that they never gave up. They fought hard in every game. The outcome of the games wasn’t what they wanted. It sure wasn’t for the Corps. But the fire of that season’s trial refined our characters and our victories were won later.
VK: So, I know one group that you think has emerged from this whole saga that deserves some praise is the group of players who went down to Miami and represented Florida State in the Orange Bowl. You think the fact that they were willing to suit up, show up, and play their best speaks very well of them don’t you?
RD: I do. Most people, and certainly every athlete, know that it is easy to show up when everything is going your way. It’s easy to go out onto a field, step on a race track, or enter the arena when you’re pretty sure you’re going to win. But it’s an entirely different matter when you know the odds are against you. Going out and doing your best in that kind of situation takes discipline, strength of character, and plain old-fashioned guts. There’s a lot of truth in the old saying that “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
VK: And in our success-obsessed culture we forget that. And we saw that even in this situation. There were some critics who thought FSU shouldn’t even go to Orange Bowl because they had lost so many key players whereas their opponents had not.
RD: Right, the FSU players who did play in the Orange Bowl already proved they were men of strength and character just by being willing to put in the practice and then step on the field. As I’ve said, I’m not going to comment on the players who didn’t go. Their decision was between them, their families, and God. But I am commending and thanking the players who did go. And their courage and character isn’t diminished at all by the results of the game.
VK: That’s a hard lesson. We all like to win especially in high profile games. And we are certainly not saying that the outcome of games or other events isn’t important. Outcomes are important. But there are going to be situations in life where we need to step up and perform regardless of whether we think we may emerge from that situation as “the winner.” Outcomes matter – but they are not all that matters – especially for Christians. Ultimately, Christians play and work for an audience of One and our lives will have been worthwhile if we ever hear “well done good and faithful servant” from Jesus.
RD: And one more thing I think we should point out about the FSU players who went to the Orange Bowl. Every athlete knows that your performance in a game is going to be improved by reps – repetitions both in practice and in games. We simply don’t know how those players might have performed if they had had the opportunity to play as much and have as much game time earlier in the season as the other team’s players did. People have hurled some unfair criticism when we don’t know what might have happened if those players had been able to develop their skills more fully.
VK: And I know the special person that you want to commend is FSU’s head football coach, Mike Norvell. You think that anyone who hasn’t done so should listen to the speech he made in the locker room after the game and his opening comments during the postgame press conference. They are a tremendous example of what servant leadership looks like.
RD: Yes. Many people forget that Jesus was a leader. In fact, He was the greatest leader of all time and He gave us the single greatest leadership maxim of all time. “The greatest among you is the servant to all.” In his talk with his players and again with the press Coach Norvell gave us an example of what Christ-like leadership looks like.
VK: And before anybody goes off the rails and saying that you are comparing Coach Norvell to Jesus that’s not what we’re doing. We are simply saying that Christ gave us an example of how we should conduct our daily lives. We are simply observing that Coach Norvell is doing a good job of following that example.
RD: Yes. Here are two easy to understand examples of how Jesus led. When they came to arrest Jesus he told the soldiers to let His followers go – and they did. Leaders place themselves between danger and their followers. And after the resurrection, even though the disciples had openly failed, Christ didn’t dwell on their failures. He told them how to do better, strengthened their weak faith, and provided encouragement. That’s what Coach Norvell did. He took all the responsibility for the loss onto his own shoulders and tried to protect his kids by going out of his way to ease their pain. No excuses, no evasion, no equivocation. Coach Norvell stood in the breach. He blamed himself, told the players how proud he was of them, and reminded them of the remarkable season they had had. Coach Norvell’s treatment of his players was a stark contrast with the behavior of some other coaches who experienced bowl losses.
VK: But we are naming no names. That’s not our purpose today.
RD: No. Our purpose is to redirect everyone’s attention to the commendable aspects of an episode that had some truly sad moments. As far as I’m concerned Coach Norvell’s actions after the loss only enhanced his excellence as a football coach. And for the players who endured the loss I’d just say that trial by fire is one of the surest ways God refines our characters for our good and His glory. And we learn that by studying the Bible and how even God’s greatest heroes have their own temporary defeats. I strongly believe victories will come for each of those young men and for the Coach. When you’re committed to Christ, Christ will not let you stand in the fire alone. And when you come out of the fire not only will you benefit but you’ll be far better able to bless others and glorify God. And that is our only purpose at Anchored by Truth.
VK: Well, as we used to say in the old days – ‘nuff said. Today for our closing prayer, let’s listen to a prayer of adoration for Jesus. He is not only the One who secured our salvation by His unfathomable sacrifice but he modeled how we are to behave throughout our lives. People like Coach Norvell show us that Christ did not die in vain. The effects of Jesus’ leadership continue to shine brightly through His children today.
---- PRAYER FOR ADORATION OF THE SON.
VK: We hope you’ll be with us in the future when we’ll continue our discussion with Candy. And we hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show.
If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!”
(Bible Quote from the Good News Translation)

Genesis, chapter 41, verses 37 through 40. Good News Translation
Florida State Head Coach, Mike Norvell, Delivers INSPIRING Speech After Orange Bowl Loss To Georgia - YouTube