Major League Baseball’s division-round matchups are set. The New York Mets became the final team to punch their ticket with a 4-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday. For the Brewers, it was a heartbreaking way to end an otherwise successful season.
Milwaukee entered the ninth inning leading 2-0 and having surrendered only two hits to the Mets offense through the first eight innings of action. And with two-time All-Star Devin Williams on the mound for the final frame, everything seemed to be lined up for the Brewers to advance to the NLDS.
Williams, whose regular season ERA was an impressive 1.25 in 2024, would ultimately struggle to shut the door. Punctuated by a three-run homer from Pete Alonso, the Mets tallied four runs in their final frame at the plate, stunning the Milwaukee crowd and crushing the spirits of the Brewers players.
Williams commented after the game, "We worked all year to get to this point. They got me a two-run lead there in the ninth. That's how you draw it up. I couldn't come through for the boys. No one feels worse than I do."
For better or worse, sorrow and grief are part of professional sports. ABC Sports once started its television programming by describing it as covering “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat."
The Brewers must decide what to do with the agony of defeat. Ultimately, they can allow the sorrow to motivate them toward positive changes for the next year and learn from the struggles that led to the loss.
Having our spirits crushed or experiencing intense sorrow are typically not things we view positively. However, as followers of Jesus, there is a certain sense in which we can definitively say that there is a good type of sorrow for us to have.
Isaiah 57:15 (NLT) says, "The high and lofty one who lives in eternity, the Holy One, says this: 'I live in the high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.'"
Amazingly, God is attracted to those with crushed spirits as they humbly recognize they need forgiveness for their sins. Rather than further crushing the spirit of someone experiencing sorrow over their sin, God lovingly promises to restore and revive that person.
When the church in Corinth had significant sin issues, the Apostle Paul wrote a relatively straightforward letter rebuking many of the church members for their sinful behavior. The letter's serious tone led many individuals to become very sorrowful over their behavior.
But Paul eventually expressed that he was glad with the result of the grief the Corinthians had experienced because it was a good kind of sorrow that led to positive results.
In 2 Corinthians 7:8-10 (ESV), Paul wrote, "For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death."
As believers, we should all desire a godly grief that leads us to repentance after sin. Yet, we don't have to remain permanently in the “agony of defeat” or doubt our forgiveness and grace in Christ.
However, it does mean that we recognize that our sin is a severe violation against a holy God and appropriately mourn the fact that we have offended Him.
The more we meditate about who God is and how good He has been to us, the more we will feel the weight of our sins against Him. The more we think about that weight and the sorrow that comes with it, the more we will experience the fruit of true repentance and the restoration God graciously gives to those who mourn over their sin.
So today, let's recognize the seriousness of our sin and experience godly sorrow over our sin against a perfect and holy God. As we turn to Him in humble repentance, we can confidently find the “thrill of victory” over the sin we despise and greater communion and intimacy with a God abounding in lovingkindness.
Remember, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted" (Matthew 5:4; NASB).
I'm Matt Osborne, and you can UNPACK that!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, please forgive me for all the sins I have committed against You. Please help me to feel the weight of my sin so that I might completely forsake it and cling to You. Thank you for the assurance that You'll forgive and restore me when I turn to You with a humble and contrite heart. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.
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