The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a very impressive season winning their first 11 games. Yesterday, however, they experienced their first loss falling 23-17 to Washington.
This loss was unexpected since Washington came into the game with only four wins...and surprising since the Steelers jumped out to a 14-0 lead.
But despite the undefeated season no longer being an option, the Steelers still have their sights set on the Super Bowl.
A loss can often be a good thing because it gives a top team the chance to reevaluate and make some changes they wouldn’t have made otherwise.
Also, how a team handles the loss reveals a lot about the character of the team and how much faith, confidence, and hope they have moving forward.
In his press conference, head coach Mike Tomlin put a positive spin on what this one loss does for them. He explained how “Different points along the journey you get a chance to learn about yourself, who you are, what you’re made of, individually and collectively, and it takes the journey to reveal that. We’re faced with a loss now. We get the opportunity to smile in the face of it.”
Although it's only one loss, how they learn from it and what they find out about themselves will significantly impact their journey to a Super Bowl.
As we unpack the loss and this quote from coach Tomlin, I'm reminded of our own journey of faith and the losses and trials we face along the way.
Do we view a loss as an "opportunity to smile in the face of it?" What do our trials reveal about our character and faith? When we encounter difficult points along the journey, do we respond in a way that shows we still have confidence and hope in the Lord?
The two verses I want to focus on today are found in 1 Peter 1:6-7 and three different translations show us how we can be refined like gold from our fiery trials...and find value in our losses.
The NIV Bible tells us, "In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."
The same passage in The Message translation puts it this way: "...Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory."
And the Living Bible translation says, "So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though the going is rough for a while down here. These trials are only to test your faith, to see whether or not it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests gold and purifies it—and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold; so if your faith remains strong after being tried in the test tube of fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day of his return."
Today, if we feel like the Steelers and coach Tomlin because "we’re faced with a loss now," let's embrace that we have an "opportunity to smile in the face of it” because God is refining us and growing us in the middle of it.
Let's put our hope and confidence in Him and allow the "loss" to reveal the genuineness of our faith. I'm Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for the fires, losses, and suffering I experience that test and purify me. I confess I am weak and at times filled with doubt, but I pray my faith would be refined and prove to be genuine as I place my hope and trust in You. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.
Discussion Questions for PACKS:
What loss or trial are you facing now and how is your faith being tested?
In what ways can you look back at previous "fires" and see how your faith was strengthened and purified?
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