The highly ranked and very talented Blue Devils appeared to be having an off-game last night. Struggling to get things going, they just couldn’t seem to hit a shot against Louisville.

With a 23-point lead (59-36) and less than 10 minutes left in the game, Louisville looked like they were going to easily win at home…until Duke finally woke up!

Duke’s dominant defense kicked in and their shots finally started falling. They overwhelmed the Cardinals by forcing nine turnovers and getting easy buckets in transition.

Fighting hard until the end, Duke put together the largest ever regulation comeback with 10 minutes (or less) remaining on the clock. They won the game 71-69 and left Louisville completely shocked by the outcome.

During a long season, a comeback like this is very rare. Teams tend to throw in the towel and give up when down 23 points with less than 10 minutes to go.

However, this Duke team is special. During the postgame interview, Star freshman, Zion Williamson, shared what Coach K kept telling them during the game: “If we need confidence, look at him” and “We’re going to win.”

For most of the game, Duke was missing shots, they were in foul trouble, and things just weren’t going their way. But even with a 23-point deficit, they still believed they were going to win and confidently trusted their coach.

In the same way Coach K encourages his team to turn to him when they need confidence, we can turn to God when faced with our own tough times, missed shots, and when things don’t go our way.

In our own strength we are weak, but in these moments we can look up and trust the Lord…and remain confident that the deficit won’t defeat us.

Psalm 105:4 (NIV) challenges us to “Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always.”

Hebrews 13:6 (ESV) reminds us, “So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’”

When a team is down 23-points and their coach tells them “We’re going to win,” it’s got to be hard to believe. But for the Blue Devils, Coach K has a strong track record and his players can trust him – even when victory seems impossible.

Thankfully, as followers of Jesus, we can walk in victory and every struggle can be met with confidence because of the truth found in John 16:33 (AMP):

“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world, you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.[My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.]”

Ultimately, we’ve already won when we’re in Christ, so we can go through any challenges with the mentality of a winner…fully confident in the One we look to.

I’m Bryce Johnson and you can unpack that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing me to turn to You to find my strength and confidence. I’m grateful that I can walk in victory every day, knowing that Jesus has already overcome the world. Any temporary setbacks can be confidently dealt with as I trust in You. It’s in Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.