By Matt Osborne, Staff Writer
The NCAA Tournament has officially started, and there was no shortage of storylines from the first full day of action.
Two of the better stories from Thursday’s slate of games were 14-seed Oakland stunning 3-seed Kentucky behind Jack Gohlke’s 10 three-pointers, and Oregon’s Jermaine Couisnard scoring 40 points in a first-round upset over South Carolina, his former team.
But another storyline that was equally as captivating came from Dayton’s 63-60 win over Nevada.
Trailing 56-39 at the under-eight TV timeout, ESPN analytics gave Dayton a 0.5% chance of winning with 7:14 remaining in the game. Despite those odds, Dayton closed the game on a 24-4 run to pull off the improbable comeback.
The poise that Dayton’s players demonstrated in remaining focused while facing such a huge obstacle was truly impressive.
In the postgame press conference, guard Koby Brea credited the calming presence of his coach, Anthony Grant, with helping the players remain calm.
Brea commented, “I think we’re comfortable in those situations. When we look at our coach, we see that he’s not worried.”
The calming influence that Anthony Grant had on his players draws my attention to the fact that, as followers of Jesus, we can be encouraged to remain calm in difficult circumstances when we recognize our God is never worried about anything.
The Bible consistently and repeatedly testifies our God is sovereign over everything in our lives. Nothing in the universe takes place apart from His providential care and guidance.
Psalm 135:6 (NIV) says, “The LORD does whatever pleases Him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths.”
Since God is completely in control of everything that takes place, it’s not surprising He never loses His composure or gets anxious about how things “might turn out.” There’s no reason for God to fear being outsmarted or overpowered by anyone else because He alone is all-wise and all-powerful.
God’s lack of worry in what we consider troubling times is perhaps best shown in Psalm 2. The chapter describes a worldwide rebellion against God in Psalm 2:1-2 (ESV): “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed…”
Yet, God’s response to the “threat” of every leader from every nation rising in an attempt to thwart God’s purposes is explained like this in Psalm 2:4 (ESV): “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.”
The Lord literally laughs at those who would attempt to oppose Him. He’s not concerned because He knows that no one and nothing can keep Him from doing all that He pleases.
Such knowledge of God’s complete sovereignty and control should lead us to experience tremendous peace and quietness of soul as we trust in Him.
As Charles Spurgeon once famously stated, “The sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which the child of God rests his head at night.”
So today, let’s be intentional to remember that our God reigns supreme over all. And since He’s not worried about what will occur, we don’t need to worry either.
I’m Matt Osborne, and you can UNPACK that!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for Your sovereignty over everything in my life. Please help me to trust that You are in control and to know I have no reason to worry since You are working all things according to the counsel of Your will. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
