In America, when most people think March, they think March Madness. The NCAA Basketball Championships have taken over the month of March – which is evident in television ratings, office brackets, Buffalo Wild Wings being packed out, and March Madness commercials flooding our televisions and Youtube. In fact, the post-season NCAA Tournament brings in more national TV ad revenue than the post-season playoffs for professional baseball, professional basketball, or college football. Only the Super Bowl is more lucrative than March Madness. So I figure if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em…
So I started my March Madness adventure, checking out NCAA.com, where I found an interesting link to the 10 greatest NCAA Men’s Basketball games of the decade. You can check it out at http://mmod.ncaa.com
As I read through the stories of the games they chose and watched some of the videos, I noticed some themes throughout the choices. The majority were games that were upsets, last minute clinchers, and/or where someone came from behind to win in the last minute. Of course the combination of all three making for the most exciting games! So as I began to ask the Holy Spirit what I could learn about life, people, and God from this (‘cause really, those are questions we should be asking about anything we spend time doing. God wishes for everything to be spiritual.). The following are some truths the Lord reminded me of….
Cheer for the underdog.
In 2006, George Mason (who has even ever heard of this team? Are they Division 2 and got moved up?) defeated power house UCONN (30-3 record and five future NBA Draft picks in the starting lineup) in a 86-84 overtime victory and became the first true outsider to make the Final Four since 1979.
I believe God enjoys cheering for and helping out the underdog. I can think of several Biblical examples of this - the most famous being: David (small, young, unheard of, shepherd boy) defeats Goliath (huge undefeated, professional army dude) with several stones and a sling shot. Talk about a mismatch of opponents. David didn’t even have the right uniform; let alone enough experience in this kind of high stakes situation (defending your country). Yet victory was his through God’s help. In the book of Judges, God has the leader of the Israelite army, Gideon, whittle down his army from 32K to 300; and then used them to defeat the powerhouse army of the Midianites. Looked to be a sure win for the defending champions of Midian, but a surprise upset by the Israelis’ through the game plan given by God Himself, gives the underdog the victory!
Do we cheer for and help the underdogs in life? Are you being intentional to spend some time with that player on your team that needs some extra help with tuning their skills? Do you stand up for those younger or weaker than you? Who are you helping to be better at whatever it is you’re good at? Or are you too busy protecting your ‘greatness’ and living in fear of helping someone else be better? Let’s reflect the character of God and be for the underdogs! Or maybe you feel like the underdog and just need to be reminded that God is cheering for you. Maybe you need to ask for God’s help in defeating some giants in your life – do it! He is cheering for you and wants to help you come out on top!
The game isn’t over till the game is over.
Final score: Villanova 78, Pittsburgh 76. Nobody led by more than five points in the second half. Fast forward to the final minute, Reynolds flew up the right side of the court, then crossed in between two Pittsburg Panthers to get into the lane. With 0.5 seconds remaining, the Villanova standout made what was either a contested runner or layup, or perhaps a cross between the two. Either way, the point is that he made it, and that he sent the Wildcats to their first Final Four since 1985.
God wants our best till the end of this life. Like Villanova, we have to fight hard to pursue God and His plans for us until that final buzzer sounds and we are headed to heaven. Our goal needs to be like that of Paul, who said at the end of his life in a letter to his mentoree Timothy, “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7). We also see this theme of never giving up in his farewell speech to the church of Ephesus in Acts 20: 24, “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.” Paul knew that how you finish the game was vitally important! He didn’t decide to spend the last years of his life on vacation or in retirement at some resort in the Mediterranean. No, he invested in people and proclaimed the Gospel to the very end. Do you live your life like that? If not, start!
Or maybe you have been on the losing side spiritually for a while now. Maybe you’ve been making unholy decisions or maybe just being lazy because it’s your senior year. It’s not too late to turn the game around. It wasn’t too late for the Wildcats, and it’s not too late for you! But you will have to fight for it! You can’t give up in expectation of defeat. Give it your all till the very end. ‘Cause it’s not over, till it’s over.
Anything is possible.
The Illini were down 15 points to Arizona, with less than four minutes remaining in the 2005 playoffs. Illinois was still down five points with just 58 seconds left and Arizona had the ball. In other words, the chances of a completing the comeback remained slim to impossible. Yet, the final score: Illinois 90, Arizona 89. In fact, the writer on the website said this,” Was it divine intervention? I doubt it. But that probably makes as much sense as anything else.”
Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power (the Holy Spirit) that is at work within us.” The Illini are credited with accomplishing something that seemed impossible in the world of basketball. One of my favorite things about God is that throughout history He helps ordinary people accomplish what seems impossible. So the next time you hear the lie in your head that says “you’re a nobody, what can you do for the Kingdom of God” – remember 3:20. When you start believing that you can’t memorize Scripture ‘cause you’re just not smart enough - remember 3:20. When you catch yourself starting to dismiss an idea God is stirring in you ‘cause you think you’re too young to do anything of importance for God – remember 3:20. And then live by it! Remember, anything is possible with God. God is able to do IMMEASUREABLE more than all we ask or imagine through the power of the Holy Spirit that lives in us who are believers. That’s a pretty powerful statement that Paul makes in this letter to the church at Ephesus.
In a similar fashion, in Psalm 18:29, David writes in one of his songs that, “With Your help I can advance against a troop. With my God I can scale a wall.” David believed and lived that anything is possible. He won many battles, besides just with Goliath, that seemed impossible. So the next time that you face a wall that seems too big to scale or an enemy that seems too powerful. Think again. Remember what we know about God from Scripture. We serve a HUGE God with whom anything is possible. Believe in the impossible and then fight for it like the fighting Illini did. ‘Cause the God we serve is all about doing the impossible through His people!
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