Rolling into last night’s game at an impressive 19-0, the University of Kentucky’s Men’s Basketball program had finally reached the lofty title of #1. The only undefeated team remaining in Division I basketball. The best team in the country. And after possessing that title for just under 2 days, they found themselves in the hostile, determined company of the South Carolina Gamecocks. Once you’re number one, there’s nowhere to go but down. Nowhere to run. Nowhere you can go and not be a target.
And targeted they were.
Only minutes into the game, I knew Kentucky was headed for trouble. Bad passes, missed layups and general chaos marked the team I had just watched dismantle Arkansas just three short days before. Where there was once a supremely confident, well-oiled machine of a basketball team, there now stood a group of guys that looked as if they weren’t quite sure what needed to be done and exactly who was supposed to do it.
They were in a funk.
And they stayed there for the entirety of the game. All the way to the final buzzer that concluded the first loss of the season for the guys that could seemingly do no wrong. Was it just a matter of time? Yes. Did I know it was coming? Sure. Did they need this to grow up a bit as a team? Absolutely.
Did it feel good to watch it happen? Not one bit.
And that’s the point. There’s been a conscious knowing in the minds of fans that this was inevitable. We’ve all known that the youth of this team would give way, the loss would ensue, and the necessary adapting and growth would hopefully follow. But knowing something and dealing with it are two very different things. I never said I’d like it. I never said I would be upset if it just never happened. After all, maybe they could do all their growing and maturing through wins all season.
Maybe so, but I think we all know that’s just not how it works.
Instead, the tough times come. It rains on everyone. Trials will befall us all.
And in those times, we choose our response. We choose to become bitter or to become stronger from it. We choose to grow or to shrink back. We choose to learn or become more ignorant and callous. We struggle. We battle. We decide.
For me, it always comes back to this single idea: “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” It’s not a “we think” statement or a “we’re fairly certain” clause. This is a “we know” declaration. We know God has it in control. We know God is for us. We know he will cause all things to work together for our good, assuming we belong to Him because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us all.
And this knowledge brings hope. It brings life. It extinguishes death.
I try with everything in me to see my failures and challenges in this most difficult of lights, admitting unashamedly that I fail miserably many times. Humbly exposing my frailty and weakness, but at the same time acknowledging my absolute need for a Savior. For an unconditional love. For Jesus.
What about you? Have you ever carried this attitude into your difficult situations, staring defeat in the face, looking for a way to grow more because of your failure? Have you let hardships beat you down until you can visualize no apparent hope? Have you had success in the midst of catastrophe and hope in the middle of fracture because of your faith?
I’ve been all over the board on this one, and as always, I covet your responses…
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