The Power of Comebacks

Before you write this off as just another post about a sporting event that has nothing to do with you, please promise me that you’ll keep reading.  If you do, I think you’ll be amazed by how much something I learned a couple of nights ago has to do with you today.

Most Wednesday nights during the school year, I head up to Pfeiffer University to lead a small Bible study for the students at the school, and since it starts at 9, sometimes I have to hit the pause button on things that I started to do before the study so that I can resume those things after the study.

This past Wednesday night, that “thing” was watching the first game of the new NBA season for the Charlotte Hornets.  It’s also the first game in 10 years as the Charlotte Hornets, and while I won’t go into all the details here about why that’s such a big deal for the Charlotte region, it is a big deal, and the city and surrounding areas have been buzzing about it for quite some time.

Suffice it to say that the return of the Hornets paired with high expectations of a better season than last year’s surprisingly good season made this a highly anticipated first game, and so, right at 7, I had the TV on ready to enjoy it.

That didn’t last long, because by the time I was heading out the door to go to the Bible study, the Hornets were down 74-50, and all the excitement and cheers from the crowd had turned into boos and jeers.

Kemba Walker hits the game-winning shot in OT

Fast forward an hour and a half. I’m walking to the car after the study and I checked my phone to see how bad the final score was. To my absolute surprise, I saw that the Hornets had won in overtime, 108-106!  So when I rolled into the house around 10:30 or so, I kissed the B99 goodnight, turned the TV on and watched the game that I had previously recorded even though I already knew how it ended.

When I woke Wendy up the next morning, she asked me who won the game and I told her everything that I just wrote for you, and her response was simple: you knew the Hornets won but you watched it anyway?  I think what she was trying to wrap her brain around was why any normal person would watch something when they already knew the final score.  Just watch the highlights on SportsCenter and save yourself the 90 minutes or so that it took to watch it.

But my response to her question revealed a powerful truth that goes way beyond basketball: “Of course I watched it. I HAD TO SEE THE COMEBACK!”

Don’t miss the power of that statement. Knowing the end result piqued my curiosity. I had to watch the game just to see how a game that was going so badly ended up being so good.

Now, forget about the Charlotte Hornets and basketball, and just start thinking about your life and how it matches up to the following verse:

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ… (2 Corinthians 2:14, emphasis added)

If you’re like most people, you may very well be experiencing situations that don’t feel much like a win.  The apostle Paul could relate to that, too.  He often found himself in situations like the Hornets were in on opening night:

I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. (2 Corinthians 11)

To me, that sounds like a man who is down by 24 points halfway through the third quarter! But he’s also the man who wrote that God is always leading us to victory, and that’s the key. No matter what you and I are facing – and often what we’re facing can look grim – because we know that we win in the end, all of us are a part of one great comeback!

That alone makes the game worth watching.

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