A Hockey Game and a Sign for Canada -Dale Rosborough
The scripture is filled with God giving signs to his people. In Matthew 24 when the disciples asked what the sign would be of His coming and of the end of the age, Jesus talked about many signs. Hezekiah was given a sign that God would give him 15 more years of life, by the shadow of the sun going back ten steps.
God is into signs. The Lord uses signs in the natural to speak of what is happening in the supernatural realm. I believe in signs and asking for signs.
Recently there has been a lot of turmoil in Canada as the relationship with our friend and trade partner, the US, has entered into unknown territory. While I am just as prone as anyone to jump to conclusions when things take an unexpected turn, I have had to take a step back to ask God where is He in all this talk about Canada becoming the 51st state of the US.
When these uncertainties happen, it is always good to remind yourself of foundational prophetic words for your nation. This is the earliest prophecy for Canada that I could find. It was given around 1776 by the Puritan reformers when the Americans tried to persecute the British Empire Loyalists who went to Canada to stay under British rule. The Lord spoke to the Puritans through their prophets and said this. “Do not hinder these people. Let them move to Canada. Do not seek to incorporate the land of Canada into America. I am in the independence of America from Britain and will mightily use this country. But Canada has been reserved by Me for the Last Days for a special work”.
That was pretty clear. But I asked the Lord for a sign. What followed was a hockey game. Not just any hockey game, but one involving 4 nations- Canada, the US, Sweden and Finland using the best of the best from each nation. It has been years since anything of this magnitude has happened. When the final came to claim the gold, two nations were left standing: Canada and the US. It became apparent that this was more than a hockey game, because the leaders of the two nations became involved with a lot of rhetoric going on, especially about the 51st state. Much more than a hockey game was on the shoulders of the players from each side. Millions tuned in to watch.
In an earlier match, the Canadians lost to the Americans and had to fight their way back to qualify for the final. But here they were, with some loud, pretty intimidating voices coming from the south.
The two teams were evenly matched, and battled bravely. But as I watched, I suddenly saw something that gave me hope. In the middle of the game, the Canadians began to find their stride. They began to skate together in a choreography that seemed like beautiful ballet. It was in our DNA. At the end of regulation time, the score was tied 2-2 and had to go to overtime. The outcome was poetry. The best player in the world, Connor McDavid scored what has been called, “the golden goal” to win it for Canada. The outpouring in our nation has been beyond whatever I can remember.
So what was the sign in the hockey game that our prophetic promises will surely come to pass? The winning goal was scored by Connor McDavid. A little David had stood up to a giant who had more money, more military might and whose population size eclipsed a small nation. But the seal on the sign came later. I was talking to my son who often points me to things I miss, and he asked what “Mc” in front of a name means. So I looked it up and it means “Son”. The Son of David was our champion! He would see to it that we come through to our destiny. The final score was 3-2. 5, the number of Grace. There is grace on our nation to complete its destiny. Just as the 1776 word said that the US would be mightily used for God, it also gave a special place for a relatively insignificant nation in terms of the nations of the world to have its special place in God’s timeline.
When Yonggi Cho, the apostle/prophet from South Korea came to Canada years ago, he felt the Lord say that Canada would have a special role just before Jesus returned to earth. When he heard that, he said to God, “Surely not! The church in Canada is so small, and they don’t have much money. Surely you mean the United States. Their churches are bigger and wealthier!” But God kept saying “No. This is the place I have chosen for a special work.”
God uses everything to wake up a nation to its destiny. For years the Canadians have been asleep, taking for granted a lot of things. It took a poke from our neighbour to the south to bring us back into our identity. We have been more unified than ever. But it took a hockey game to show us as a sign that the Son of David is with us with grace to perform what we cannot do on our own.
In 2002 I was on a prayer journey with Kathie Walters in Scotland. When we came to the middle of the country where the monument to William Wallace of Braveheart fame was, I suddenly had a vision of a sleeping giant lying over the map of Canada. As I looked the giant began to rouse himself and wake up. I believe our braveheart time has come. That place in Scotland has the large sword of William Wallace on display. David took only one trophy when he beat Goliath. He took the giant’s sword and put it in his tent. We have been given a glimpse of our destiny. We just need to seize it. Canada is not going anywhere except forward into her time on the timeline. It’s time for the sleeping giant to arise out of slumber. The Son of David will make sure of it.
