Urban Meyer is one of the most accomplished college football coaches in history, winning three National Championships and 85% of his games…going 12-3 in Bowl games…and never losing four consecutive games on the college level.

Now as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, he lost to the Cincinnati Bengals last night in the closing seconds putting their record at 0-4 to start his first season in charge.

His rookie quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, was taken first overall in the NFL Draft after a highly successful career at Clemson where he went 34-2 as a starter.

Needless to say, Meyer and Lawrence are not used to losing and they’re experiencing a type of pain they haven’t felt before. It’s only been four games and they’re both new to the NFL, but they’re having a tough time with the adjustment.

Although losing like this is new to them, they’re not the first guys to go through it. Urban Meyer can look to other former college coaches who attempted to be NFL coaches.

Nick Saban made the jump from college to pros and coached the Dolphins for two seasons with a record of 15-17…Steve Spurrier went 12-20 in Washington…and Bobby Petrino went 3-10 in Atlanta. They all eventually returned to college.

During their time in the NFL, each of them went through the challenges of losing in ways they’d never experienced. They encountered the pressure of going from college to the pros while trying to turn franchises around.

Similarly, Trevor Lawrence can look back at quarterbacks (also first overall picks) who had brutal first seasons following winning college careers.

Peyton Manning went 39-6 at Tennessee before he played his rookie season with the Colts and finished 3-13. Troy Aikman was 20-4 at UCLA but finished his first NFL season with an 0-11 record as a starter for the Cowboys.

Losing is especially hard to navigate when you haven’t experienced anything like it before, but fortunately, Lawrence and Meyer have previous coaches and quarterbacks to talk to and learn from. They can help them process this newfound losing because they’ve experienced it themselves.

We, too, may find ourselves in a season of losing or have been through an 0-4 start in the past. After having a “successful run” for a while and experiencing lots of wins on our record, we more than likely have also gone through a time of losing like never before.

Just like Urban Meyer, we are/were at a loss for words with our heads spinning. We have/had negative thoughts and feelings of frustration and discouragement never encountered before.

This happens when we struggle for the first time with our careers and finances or in our marriage or as a parent or with our health. Countless other ways of suffering will hit us for the first time in our lives.

Thankfully, when this does happen, we don’t have to buy the lie that nobody understands or that we should just figure it out on our own. Instead, we can find other people to talk to and learn from because there’s always somebody who has gone through something similar and can assist us with the newfound pain we’re feeling.

As followers of Jesus, we must first turn to God with our trials because He always offers us peace, direction, and comfort. We can also turn to fellow believers who can help us navigate what we’re going through, but we have to be willing to pursue them and then receive their input.

Likewise, we have the opportunity to do the same for others who are “losing for the first time” and going through similar situations we’ve struggled with. We can support and encourage them as we point them to Jesus.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (NIV) tells us, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.”

Whenever we’re unsure how to face suffering, losing, trials, and temptations, we can lean on Jesus who compassionately understands what we’re going through.

Hebrews 4:14-15 (NLT) says, “So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin.”

We wish we could be undefeated all the time and never experience those 0-4 starts, but thankfully, we don’t have to go through it alone. As we help one another persevere and learn from it, we can confidently declare, “My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to Your decrees” (Psalm 119:71; NLT).

I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I admit that many aspects of life have been painful and the losing seasons that I experience for the first time are very challenging. I know I need You and I praise You for Your comfort and peace. Please bring people into my life who understand what I’m going through, so they can help me persevere. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.

Discussion Questions for PACKS:

1. What have been the toughest “losing seasons” you’ve experienced for the first time?

2. Is it harder for you to receive comfort from others or give comfort to others?