The game of the week took place Saturday night as No. 4 ranked Notre Dame upset No. 1 ranked Clemson 47-40 in a double-overtime thriller.
It's been 27 years since the Fighting Irish knocked off a No.1 team and this win puts them in a strong position to make the College Football Playoff.
Not only that, but the win proved that Notre Dame was capable of winning a marquee game against an elite opponent. Previously against top-five opponents, Notre Dame had lost 11 straight games and 19 of its last 20.
Even though Clemson was without its star quarterback Trevor Lawrence, this win still revealed to the fans and media that this year’s Notre Dame team is the real deal. However, head coach Brian Kelly had a different spin on what they proved.
After the game, he said, "We're not celebrating because we showed the world or changed the narrative because they were the No. 1 team in the country. We're celebrating because we proved something to ourselves."
Of course, showing the national audience on a Saturday night that you can beat the No. 1 team in the country is great, but even more so, inside that Notre Dame locker room, the players now know what they can do.
They can move on from their past failures in big games and embrace the possibilities for this year’s team. Part of a headline on CBSSPORTS.com sums up the win well: “Notre Dame Awakens its Greatness in Winning an All-Time Classic…”
Notre Dame can now have even more confidence and belief in their abilities to become a championship team after they passed the test last weekend.
When looking at our own past failures, weaknesses, and limitations, we often believe we can't accomplish anything significant. However, if we've given our hearts to Christ and surrendered our lives to Him, we need to "awaken the greatness" that's within us. Christ in us empowers and makes us capable of greatness.
Ephesians 2:10 (AMP) says, "For we are His workmanship , created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand , so that we would walk in them ."
We have to move past our doubts and reveal our faith is real while not only showing others we aren't a fraud, but prove to ourselves that we are capable of doing great things as a committed follower of Jesus who relies on Him.
2 Corinthians 13:5 (AMP) tells us to "Test and evaluate yourselves to see whether you are in the faith and living your lives as believers. Examine yourselves ! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test and are rejected as counterfeit?"
The Living Bible paraphrases the verse this way: "Check up on yourselves. Are you really Christians? Do you pass the test? Do you feel Christ’s presence and power more and more within you? Or are you just pretending to be Christians when actually you aren’t at all?”
Notre Dame demonstrated they aren't just pretenders. Instead, they took a big step toward their championship aspirations. Today, let's prove to be genuine followers of Jesus by unleashing the power inside of us...and "awaken the greatness!"
I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Jesus to save me and live inside of me. I pray I would rely on the power available to me and live a genuine life of obedience to the plan You have for me and the great things You want to do through me. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.Discussion Questions for PACKS:
How would you evaluate the life you're living?
What's holding you back from embracing the greatness within you?
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