It was never supposed to be. The NY Giants were underdogs and despite going into Superbowl XLII with a winning streak on the road, they would never beat the perfect winning season of the New England Patriots. Never. Wouldn’t happen.
Well, it happened!
This team started out the year 0-2. Last season all of NY wanted head coach Tom Coughlin fired. He had to plead with management to keep his job. Quarterback Eli Manning had to live up to the impossible expectations of his older brother Payton who won the Superbowl last year. Eli hasn’t matured as he should have. He’s been in the league a few years and has been a disappointment. He was not measuring up.
This team never gave up. They never quit. Hollywood wouldn't produce a movie like this because it would be too corny. Too formula. Too feel good.
When one player is hurt, another steps up. There is focus on a goal and there is commitment to one another, a deep commitment. Every football player knows they all need one another to win. Football players are deeply loyal to one another. They are also very aware that every game could be their last, going down with a permanent injury. they don't take each other for granted.
Why a devotional about this game? The NY Giants demonstrated a principle found in Celebrate Recovery and throughout the Bible—never give up, keep the faith, persevere to the end.
For those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord & Savior, the battle has been won. We are victorious. What we have before us is a life of faithfulness to God, not because our deeds will save us, but because we love God. Jesus Christ has accomplished the victory on the Cross.
Yet…is there a follower of Jesus that hasn’t experienced discouragement or the desire to throw in the towel of faith?
I have.
The month of December was the worst I can remember. My back was out, I lost a job, I had a terrible Christmas and still have not reconciled with my family fully, my recovery issues were surfacing again, I had to give up a blue chip in my Friday night small group…I wanted to quit CR.
I felt like I was letting others down. Specific men had believed in me. I was part of a step-study group for almost a year and wanted to quit several times. I believed I could be abstinate from my issues, but to recover from them? That was another story.
I know what the scriptures teach and say;
“eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality” --Romans 2:7
“we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”—Romans 5:4-5
“Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: "For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry” --Hebrews
I also know that I find myself in a cyclical pattern of moving five steps forward and three steps back. I get tired of failure. I hate it. I want victory NOW!
Recently I’ve realized that this demand for recovery NOW is my pride. Aren’t we all aware of the following truth, “Pride comes before the fall”?
Through my failures I’ve come back to grace and faith. Yet, it took a long time to not beat myself up and go into moments of doubt that God could love me when I fell. I am free from the law of works and deeds. I can’t do it on my own, and I certainly can’t do it alone.
Recently, I heard a fine preacher teach that the great Apostle Paul struggled the most when he was alone on his missionary travels. It was then that he wrestled with an area of the flesh the most.
Like a football team, and like Paul, we also need one another. We need community to heal and grow. Left alone, we will fail and plunge back into the deeds of the flesh we so ardently want to be free of.
The NY Giants could have believed the fans and the sports media, all the radio talking heads filling their daily shows by casting doubt on this team…but they chose to believe something greater.
They took discouragement and used it to build a better team. They focused more. They were more serious and practiced harder. They knew in order to achieve victory they could not coast through the year and wait to cash in their paychecks.
Instead of diving into denial and blame, they took a hard long look at themselves. This was the difficult part. They had to trust in one another, believe the team was better than the individual. They relied upon one another in good and bad. These are the efforts that produce change.
We in CR do the same. We do similar efforts like meet on Friday night for a large group meeting and hear a teaching or testimony. We break into small groups. We gather for fellowship. Many are realizing that the step-study groups are where the real healing takes place.
I wonder how many others felt like quitting their step-study group like me over the past year? How many have made excuses to not show up for one reason or another, to be left alone rather than gather together? Was I the only one?
Yet in this time of discouragement, how many have received a phone call or an email that said, “Hi, missed ya…you OK?”
We must not forget one another! Like a hurt player in a football game, he is not left on the field, but gently carried away for medical care, to heal and recover.
The story of the Prodigal Son in the Gospel of Luke is a story of a rebellious son who rejects his father’s upbringing. Prideful and strong, the son heads-off to a far-away land, leads a wild life of adventure, and squanders everything of value (literally and spiritually).
Not until he’s confronted with failure and despair, does he return home, repentant and willing to do anything to win back his father’s favor. To his surprise, and the surprise of others, he’s welcomed, without question, into his father’s loving and forgiving arms. No amount of time, no amount of money, and no amount of rebellion could get in the way of the father’s unconditional love for his returning son.
For this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.' So the party began.
(Luke 15:24)
The primary focus of this parable is God the Father and the general rebellion of His children. It’s a beautiful story of God’s patient grace and His willingness to welcome each of us home into His loving and forgiving arms.
This is a message of patience, perseverance and, most importantly, prayer. It’s about viewing the “prodigal experience” as a spiritual process, which helps build and strengthen our faith in God’s plan for our lives.
We who are in Christ strive for recovery (growth) not because we will be a better person in this life, but because we love God and want to love our neighbor as we should. As a believer, it all makes sense now. God is life, He created life and sin has destroyed everything. Selfishness, pain, hurts, habits, self-deception, discouragement, depression…it seems to never end.
Yet, we come to the Cross and confess. We believe in the promises of God;
“…we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-38
God has changed our hearts. We now hate sin and selfishness. Our hearts grieve when we fall backwards. Many times we don’t know why we do what we do. We might ask, “How in the world can I love God one day and want to sin the next?” It is confusing.
I have been in a step-study group for a year and have started the second session over again. It has taken me a year to go from head to heart (I verbally shared hurts and habits, but didn't fully experience the hurt). Only now am I just starting to deal with heart issues. It took a year to pull off some heavy jackets I was wearing...and recently I've wanted to put one of those jackets back on.
Like the NY Giants and like so many who have endured over time, may we not quit. God will never quit on us. It is not in His nature. Our pride and wrong thinking tries to reduce God to our standards. God will have none of it. We need to rise to His standards and renew our minds.
This is why we need others so desperately. When we go astray our distorted thinking says, “God doesn’t love me anymore. I don’t love God anymore. If He did or I did, why do I struggle so much, why does He allow me to suffer so?”
I believe when we do this, we reduce God to the morality of those who have hurt us the most. Frequently it is our “inner circle” and by God’s design that is usually family and friends--it is always close-knit relationships that hurts us the most.
We were designed for God, and from day one, we experienced disappointment both within and without. No parent could ever meet God’s standard of love. That's insanity. How can imperfect parents love perfectly? No child wants to hear about their parent's hurts, habits, and hang-ups...they just want unconditional love every moment of their lives.
Multiply the hurts over many years (some far more significant than others), the hurts seek relief and attach to bad habits, then the bad habits create serious hang-ups. Then many of us apply another moment of insanity by demanding God remove and heal everything all at once! Us perfectionists really have a quandary with that one!
No wonder we recoil to self-protective patterns of thinking! Left alone, these patterns can dominate our person and lead us to finding relief. On top of it, we love our sin…for a moment.
Let us grow in three significant areas;
1) To forgive ourselves as God forgave us in His Son Jesus Christ.
2) To forgive others as God has forgiven us in His Son.
3) To accept ourselves as God has accepted us.
Who can do this alone? We need community to understand this and the love God uses in other's lives towards us. This is the power behind the story of The Prodigal Son. It was a father's open arms in receiving his son that strayed without judgment or "I told you so!" That is rare!
Although just a football game, the story of the 2007-08 NY Giants gives us another tale of a team that was destined to fail and won it all. This is inspiring, but the real story beneath the surface was that of building a strong team over time and growing close when the easy way out was quitting or giving up. That's what inspired me.
* May we never quit (we might stray for a moment)
* May we never give up on another
* May we welcome those who have strayed with open arms
* May we grow to trust in others and depend on others
* May we get serious about our recovery
* May we be patient with others
Take a moment and fill in your "May we...." and then ask if it will be, "May I..."
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