By Staff Writer, Matt Osborne Although we've only experienced one full day of March Madness, we've already been privy to some exciting moments that will be remembered for quite some time. In terms of the biggest upset overall, that honor would go to the 15-seed Princeton Tigers, who knocked off two-seed Arizona 59-55. But if you're looking for the most memorable moment from Thursday’s action, I think you'd have to look at Furman’s upset over four-seed Virginia. Ahead by two points with 12.3 seconds remaining, Virginia looked to inbound the basketball in hopes of running out the clock. Veteran point guard, Kihei Clark, took possession of the ball for the Cavaliers and was promptly trapped in the corner. In a seemingly moment of panic, Clark inexplicably heaved the ball down the court right into the waiting arms of Furman’s Garrett Hein. Hein quickly passed the ball ahead to J.P. Pegues, who rose and drained a long three-pointer to give the Paladins a dramatic 68-67 upset victory. While many people have focused much attention on Clark’s questionable decision to attempt a long pass out of a double-team, the part of the sequence that stood out the most to me was Pegues’ readiness in taking such a huge shot at the drop of a hat. There seemed to be no hesitancy for Pegues to immediately shoot the biggest shot of his life, even though he couldn’t have expected he'd be in that situation when Virginia inbounded the ball. In an interview following his game-winning shot, Pegues commented, “As soon as I saw it go into Garrett Hien’s hands, I was like: ‘I want the ball!’ I feel like those are the moments I’ve craved my whole life and I feel like I’m built for it.” From that comment, I think it's safe to say Pegues has spent countless hours thinking about and training for making clutch shots, so if he ever found himself in such a position, he'd be ready for the moment. As followers of Jesus, I think there's an important parallel to our need to always be “ready for the moment.” Going about our daily lives, we never know when we'll suddenly be faced with a pressure-packed moment. Maybe we're at work and someone says something hostile and nasty to us out of the blue. Or perhaps we've been enjoying a time of relative peace and calm when suddenly we find ourselves face-to-face with a gigantic trial. Maybe we're suddenly tempted to do something that would dishonor God and break His commandments. How do we respond in those moments when something unexpected comes our way? Do we respond in a way that's pleasing to the Lord, or do we cave under the pressure? Just like with Pegues, so much of our success in crucial situations comes down to being prepared in advance, and not simply hoping to react positively when pressure comes. Psalm 119:11 (NKJV) says, “Your Word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” The psalmist knew one of the keys to not sinning in a moment of temptation was to have God’s Word already stored in his heart. Similarly, Paul writes about being prepared in Ephesians 6:13 (NIV), “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” As believers, we don’t run to get prepared for difficult moments once they arrive. Rather, we're called to have our spiritual armor on ahead of time so we can be ready for the moment. If we're being intentional to spend time with God doing things such as praying, reading the Bible, fellowshipping with other believers, serving others, and thinking about things that please the Lord, we'll be equipped to rise to the moment when things are suddenly thrown at us. I have heard pastors compare difficult situations to squeezing an orange: it doesn’t create the orange juice…it just reveals what was already there. Luke 6:45 (NLT) seems to support this idea, as Jesus stated, “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” We never know when life is going to “pass us the ball” unexpectedly. Today, let's choose to do the work ahead of time so we're prepared to respond at the moment...and in a “winning” manner. I’m Matt Osborne and you can UNPACK that! PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for giving me spiritual armor that helps me stand firm when trials come my way. Forgive me for the times when I don't respond to difficulties in a way that honors You, and show me how to be prepared for those moments in advance as I trust in You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR PACKS:
1. Have you found there's a correlation in your life between how you respond to challenges and how involved
you've been in spiritual disciplines? (Share an example, if you have one.)2. What is one thing you could be doing right now to ensure you are better prepared for a trial or temptation?
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