Victor Wembanyama is now a San Antonio Spur and the city of San Antonio couldn't be more excited. The AT&T Center was packed with fans on draft night waiting with anticipation for the obvious selection of “Wemby.”
Even the guests of the Drury Inn Downtown received a letter ahead of time saying: "There is a potential chance you may hear some vehicle honking this evening in the downtown area. This is a tradition in San Antonio after the Spurs basketball team has won championships in past years. That said it has been a number of years since our hometown team has had much to celebrate. Tonight is the NBA Draft and uniquely enough our Spurs have the first pick in the draft that has garnered international attention this year……” (Summary: Ups, downs, and now ups again)
If you’ve been a Spurs fan for the last few years or so, you know that it hasn’t been pretty. It’s clear now that the front office chose to do their best to do poorly. The focus was on “development” not winning. Fan’s expectations tanked just like the team. Fans didn’t show up for games and if they did, left early.
It was easy to wish for the good ole days. Being at the bottom of the standings was not a place we Spur fans were used to.
I think the Spurs’ season sounds a lot like our lives. If we could choose between ups and downs, almost all of us would prefer the “ups.” We’re NEVER ready for the "downs" and they seem to come when we least expect. Often, we don’t want to admit we’re struggling and hide our hurts. We just want to get through the “downs” and get back with the “ups.”
I believe God wants to use both our “ups” and “downs” in our lives. In fact, as we invite God into these seasons, He helps us when we feel unable to help ourselves. Paul in 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 says “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead…. On him, we have set our hope and he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers.”
Paul’s view of suffering was radical. God uses our suffering to advance His kingdom. God uses our suffering to make us more like Jesus. God uses suffering to grow our faith. Suffering produces perseverance, which produces Christian character. (Romans 5:3-4 and James 1:3-4) On God, we set our hope.
When I live in the “ups” of life, when all is well, I can easily find myself relying on my own skills and abilities. But it’s those “downs” that I realize my own powerlessness and my desperate need for God. I imagine there were times the Apostle Paul wondered if he would ever escape his difficult circumstances. I know there are times I wondered that as well. I just wanted to get out of my “down” to get back to my “ups.”
As I’ve grown in my faith, I realize that having an attitude of dependence on God in the ups AND downs of life is crucial. God helps me gain His perspective and literally walks me through everything that comes my way. I see Him doing that now as I grieve the loss of my dad.
It’s a new day for the Spurs and I for one, am ecstatic. It’s a new day for each of us as well, as we learn to depend upon God in our “ups” and “downs.”
If you’ve been a Spurs fan for the last few years or so, you know that it hasn’t been pretty. It’s clear now that the front office chose to do their best to do poorly. The focus was on “development” not winning. Fan’s expectations tanked just like the team. Fans didn’t show up for games and if they did, left early.
It was easy to wish for the good ole days. Being at the bottom of the standings was not a place we Spur fans were used to.
I think the Spurs’ season sounds a lot like our lives. If we could choose between ups and downs, almost all of us would prefer the “ups.” We’re NEVER ready for the "downs" and they seem to come when we least expect. Often, we don’t want to admit we’re struggling and hide our hurts. We just want to get through the “downs” and get back with the “ups.”
I believe God wants to use both our “ups” and “downs” in our lives. In fact, as we invite God into these seasons, He helps us when we feel unable to help ourselves. Paul in 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 says “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead…. On him, we have set our hope and he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers.”
Paul’s view of suffering was radical. God uses our suffering to advance His kingdom. God uses our suffering to make us more like Jesus. God uses suffering to grow our faith. Suffering produces perseverance, which produces Christian character. (Romans 5:3-4 and James 1:3-4) On God, we set our hope.
When I live in the “ups” of life, when all is well, I can easily find myself relying on my own skills and abilities. But it’s those “downs” that I realize my own powerlessness and my desperate need for God. I imagine there were times the Apostle Paul wondered if he would ever escape his difficult circumstances. I know there are times I wondered that as well. I just wanted to get out of my “down” to get back to my “ups.”
As I’ve grown in my faith, I realize that having an attitude of dependence on God in the ups AND downs of life is crucial. God helps me gain His perspective and literally walks me through everything that comes my way. I see Him doing that now as I grieve the loss of my dad.
It’s a new day for the Spurs and I for one, am ecstatic. It’s a new day for each of us as well, as we learn to depend upon God in our “ups” and “downs.”
Take a listen to Hills and Valleys (Ups and Downs) : https://www.youtube.com/
Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio
No comments:
Post a Comment