The NBA Playoffs is not only heating up with intriguing matchups but with hot-tempered players and coaches. The Rockets vs. the Warriors is the marquee series right now, and with Golden State taking Game 1, controversy has ensued.
The Rockets were very upset over the refs' calls and felt like the whistles favored the Warriors. Technicals were handed out, Chris Paul was ejected, and the officiating has been put under a microscope ever since.
There's no question that the refs missed some key calls and didn’t blow their whistle on specific fouls that should have been called. One type of play that's getting a lot of media attention involves a player needing room to land after his shot.
In particular, Rockets guard James Harden found himself going up for a three and making contact with the defender on his way down because there wasn’t enough space to cleanly land.
This makes it a tough call for refs when they have to decide if the shooter was given enough room by the defender to complete the shot. The Rockets were especially outraged because they didn't think they were being given enough space, and didn't like that fouls weren't being called.
As we think about shooters needing enough room to land on their feet, I’m reminded of how much we need space in our own lives to land on our feet.
For many of us, we have very little margin, room on our calendars, space in our minds, breaks in our schedules, or long enough gaps for the most important things in life. We’re living with no space to listen to God, to enjoy meaningful community, to serve others, or to think creatively.
I’ve learned that when there's no space, there's pressure, and pressure leads to anger and many other types of “fouls.” We need room in our lives to breathe, to reload, to think clearly, and to listen to God intently. All too often our schedules and minds are filled up with the wrong things and we’re not making any room for God in our lives.
Ultimately, creating space in our lives is a result of surrender. We give up and let go of the things that aren’t drawing us closer to God and remove things that only add to the pressure.
When we tightly hold onto things and keep piling onto our plates, it's because we believe everything is up to us. It leads us to have no space and immense pressure, and if we don't take a break we will find ourselves breaking - mentally, physically, and spiritually.
When Jesus was in the middle of His busy ministry here on earth, healing people and preaching, He still found space to be in prayer with God the Father.
Mark 1:35 (NLT) tells us, "Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray."
The Amplified translation says it this way: "Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left , and went out to a secluded place, and was praying there.”
Today, let’s be challenged to make room for isolation and seclusion with God in prayer. Let’s surrender space in our schedules and in our minds, so He can fill them with Himself. When we do, we’ll always land on our feet!
I’m Bryce Johnson and You can UNPACK that!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, please help me find more space in my life to listen, think, and pray. Teach me how to surrender to You and rest in You each day, so that the pressure goes away. Thank You for being there for me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
Comments