Offensive linemen rarely get the attention they deserve, and NFL fans often overlook their value.
However, Cleveland Browns’ offensive tackle, Joe Thomas, has earned some acknowledgement for his incredible milestone of playing 10,000 career snaps without missing a play.
Since being drafted by the Browns in 2007, Thomas has remarkably lined up on the field every single time!
Despite the team's struggles, Thomas has been a great player who epitomizes what it means to keep going - even when losing. With advice that carries weight, he offered this strong perspective when asked about Ezekiel Elliott's lack of effort in the Cowboys’ loss on Sunday:
“The problem when you’re a young player and some people will take this the wrong way but you have to learn how to lose. Because in college a lot of times these guys come from programs where they didn’t lose a lot, and so as soon as things are going poorly it’s easy for those guys to just throw in the towel, and I think we saw that with Ezekiel.
"Obviously they had a tremendous season last year. He came from an organization in college at Ohio State that hardly ever lost, and if you find yourself in a situation where you’re losing sometimes those guys don’t know how to handle it and they don’t understand you have to play at the highest level and give everything you have on every single play no matter what the scoreboard says because that’s your job and that’s what you owe to your teammates.”
In both sports and life, nobody likes to lose, fail, or struggle. But Thomas is onto something when he says “you have to learn how to lose” because nobody wins all the time or is successful at everything they do.
Even if we have a few good seasons in a row with life going our way, there will be times when suddenly something goes wrong and we’re forced to respond.
We can easily “throw in the towel” and let the scoreboard cause us to be angry, depressed, discouraged, and hopeless. Or we can persevere...fight through the negative emotions...and overcome the loss, so we are even stronger the next time around.
As followers of Jesus, we can run to the cross and rest in the grace we’ve been given. This results in strength and hope in Him, no matter what kind of loss, failure, or disappointment we face.
When we find ourselves in a losing situation because of circumstances or our own sinful choices, we must remember that shame, pouting, anger, and giving up are not the answer.
Instead, we can hold onto this truth found in Hebrews 4:14-16 (NLT):
"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.
"So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”
“Learning how to lose” on our journey of faith means learning how to trust God and how to embrace the grace and mercy that are available to us.
I’m Bryce Johnson and you can unpack that!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I feel like giving up when I blow it or when life gets hard. Instead, please help me turn my eyes toward You and learn to remember I have grace and mercy available to me. I pray You’d strengthen me to keep going. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
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