Each March when we tune in to watch the NCAA tournament, college basketball fans anticipate tight games, phenomenal scoring, surprise upsets, and epic performances. So far, that’s exactly what we've seen. Last night's games were especially amazing as three out of the four were competitive and came down to the final moments. We knew the UCLA-Gonzaga matchup had the opportunity to be a great battle and both teams delivered. Gonzaga pulled it out with a remarkable comeback that ended with a deep three-pointer by Julian Strawther giving them the win. The Kansas State vs. Michigan State game was supposed to provide us with a close one and they didn't let us down. It was back and forth and took overtime and a legendary performance from Kansas State point guard, Markquis Nowell, for the Wildcats to pull out the thrilling 98-93 win. Meanwhile, the 9th-seeded Florida Atlantic continues to be that Cinderella team we hope for and count on to see each March Madness. The team keeps rolling through the tournament as they took down Tennesee, upsetting them 62-55, to move on to the Elite Eight. Every year, we never know how the games are going to play out or what teams will keep advancing, but we do know that the tournament always supplies us with excitement, overtime games, clutch shots, comebacks, and dramatic moments. We can’t count on our brackets to be correct or games to turn out exactly the way we expect them to, but the tournament has historically proven itself to be reliable. Every time the ball is tipped to begin another month of madness, we can depend on the tournament to deliver great games! Despite this being a good time of year for March Madness fans, many of us may be finishing another week with “busted brackets” in our personal lives. We might be dealing with a lot of uncertainty, hoping for circumstances to change, or waiting on God to move. The encouragement for us today is that God is faithful. Much more so than a basketball tournament, our Lord is reliable, dependable, and always delivers. We don’t know how or when He’s going to do it, and life probably won’t play out exactly how we expected it to, but God and His Word can be counted on. Psalm 33:4 (NIV) declares, “For the Word of the Lord is right and true; He is faithful in all He does.” Every day, when we turn to Him and follow His ways, He comes through for us by providing strength, grace, mercy, and love. Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV) says, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” Throughout history and our own lives, God has been faithful to His people. We have every reason to trust Him and expect Him to deliver on His promises. Again and again, He supplies our needs and gives us tremendous blessings beyond what we deserve. John 1:16 (AMP) tells us, “For out of His fullness we have all received grace upon grace .” As we get ready for another weekend of March Madness, our excitement will build because we know we can count on something awe-inspiring to take place. But even more than that, we can depend on God’s greatness in our own lives as we “tune in” to witness His glory shine through while we experience His faithfulness over and over again. So in the days and weeks ahead, “Let us seize and hold tightly the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is reliable and trustworthy and faithful …” (Hebrews 10:23; AMP). I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that! PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I praise You for Your faithfulness. You are worthy to be trusted and I thank You for being so reliable and dependable. You have come through for me over and over again and filled my life with so many undeserved blessings. You are such a good God and I thank You for always providing love, grace, mercy, and strength. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR PACKS:
1. In what ways has God been faithful to you in your life? 2. How does His past faithfulness give you hope that you can count on Him to come through again?
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