Life may look like checkmate, but God still has one more move. What appears final is often the setup for the breakthrough He’s preparing.
There was a painting hanging in the Louvre Museum in Paris that most people walked right past.
It’s not as famous as the Mona Lisa or as grand as The Wedding Feast at Cana, but it carries one of the most powerful lessons you’ll ever hear.
The painting is called “Checkmate.”
It shows two figures sitting at a chessboard: a man, clearly distressed, his face pale and defeated; and across from him, the devil, smiling in victory.
The title says it all: Checkmate. The game is over.
Or so it seems...
Years ago, a chess grandmaster visited the museum as part of a tour while the painting was still on display.
He stood in front of the painting for a long time, analyzing the board.
Minutes went by. The people around him began to move on, but he didn’t. He kept staring, studying every piece.
Finally, he called out to the tour guide and said, “Either you modify the painting or you change its title.”
“Why?” the guide asked.
The grandmaster pointed to the board and said, “Because the King has one more move.”
Maybe you’ve felt like that man in the painting.
Trapped.
Out of options.
Certain that your story has reached the end.
You’ve done everything you can, and it feels like defeat is staring you in the face.
But just because it looks like the game is over doesn’t mean it is.
Think about Joseph, sitting in a prison cell after being betrayed by his own brothers.
Or Daniel, surrounded by lions in a dark cave.
Or Lazarus, four days in the tomb, while everyone else had already started mourning.
Each of their stories looked like checkmate.
But they weren’t finished.
God was still moving the pieces.
Maybe that’s where you are right now, standing in front of a painting called defeat, convinced it’s over.
You might not see the move yet.
You might not understand the strategy.
But you can trust the King who’s still at the table.
So don’t walk away.
Don’t give up.
Don’t close the story before He’s done writing it.
Because no matter how hopeless the board looks, one truth remains:
The King always has one more move.
