While there are many reasons to dislike Sonic Shuffle, Sonic’s weak attempt at mimicking a Mario Party style game, one of the biggest is that it feels like the game is rigged so that the computer-controlled characters would win. No matter how well I would perform in the various mini-game challenges, my AI opponents would always land on the exact spaces they needed to, triggering events that resulted in stealing all of my hard-earned rings. The lack of fairness in the game’s design made it impossible to enjoy for even the most dedicated of Sonic fans, who ironically were cheated twice… once when we bought the game, and again when we played it.

It can be very frustrating when this game of life seems rigged for us to fail, and as followers of Christ it can be hard to reconcile the fact that even when we are doing everything right we will still often feel like the deck is stacked against us. But when we are facing undeserved headwinds and storms in life, let’s remember that the very Son of God Himself endured every frustration, rejection, pain, and suffering we will ever deal with and more… and even though He possessed every cheat code to win this game, He refused to use them so He can understand and comfort us in our battles. Let’s keep our heads up and eyes on Him… His grace will be sufficient today.

Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. 1 Peter 4:12-14, 16

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:15-16

He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. Matthew 5:45b

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