The word “miracle” is thrown around quite a bit in the
sports world. Sometimes it actually applies.
It’s prevalent this time of year, especially, thanks to
March Madness.
Whether it’s a massive upset by a lower seed in the first round (remember 15th-seeded Richmond over No. 2 seed Syracuse in
1991?), or perhaps a giant-slaying in the NCAA Championship (N.C. State over Houston in ‘83, Villanova’s
near-perfect second half to beat Georgetown in ’85), the tournament seems
to bring high-caliber drama more consistently than any other event.
(AUTHOR’S NOTE: Don’t
get me started on this year’s tournament to date. My bracket has more red lines
than the old Soviet national hockey team. More on them in a moment).
More often than not, rather than a game itself, we think of
miracles happening in a single moment within the game. Who can forget these,
complete with links to the TV or Radio calls:
- - Chritian Laetner’s buzzer beater vs. Kentucky http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3_IT622Sbc
- - Buck Belue to Lindsay Scott for a Sugar Bowl
clinching 93-yard TD http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vOhWVvsrq5k
- - Bobby Thomson’s “Shot Heard ‘Round The World”
that beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in the final game of a 3-game playoff in 1951 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T0drh8i4Tw
- - Or, as much as it pains me to say it (Bengals
fan that I am), the Immaculate Reception. It is still, arguably, the single
greatest “miracle” play in all of sports http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9raZmOBH_o
Of course only one use of the word “miracle” has become part
of the American sports lexicon – the Miracle on Ice, in which the United States
Olympic Hockey Team – college kids – took down the mighty Soviet Union in the
semifinals of the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY.
It is, perhaps, the defining moment in all of American
Sports http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYscemhnf88
Biblically, miracles are almost always supernatural events.
From the parting of the Red Sea, to the virgin birth of Jesus, all the way
through His resurrection from the dead, the Bible provides documentation of these
events for us to both study and marvel.
And because of the nature of those happenings from God’s
Word, we often make the mistake of believing miracles don’t occur today.
But they do. You just have to recognize them. Usually it
occurs in hindsight.
Speaking personally, in 26 months and counting without steady employment, it’s
a miracle my family and I are still in our house. God has provided our needs
(He’s also taught me the difference between wants and needs. I have a habit of
getting them confused).
Not once has our power been shut off. Never have we been
without food. We’ve always had a car and
found a way to distribute each of us to our needed destination.
There have been times that I didn’t know where, when or if
the next paycheck was coming. Still don’t. And yet without fail God made a way.
Not always the way I would have chosen, or at the time I wanted.
But in His way, on His time, the Heavenly Father has
provided us with exactly what it’s taken to get by month to month.
It’s taken some major adjusting on our part. On my part,
especially. But more and more every day I see myself relying on the providence
of God rather than the strength of Dan. Because God is our only strength. And
if history has taught me anything these past 26 months, it’s that the more I
try to fix things the worse they get broken.
Oh, I still have my moments. Too many of them in fact. But
at least I’m aware now, and it doesn’t take me nearly as long to figure out I’m
only making the situation worse.
That alone might even be considered a divine miracle. Or at
least a strong work in progress with Jesus patiently guiding the course.
No, friends, there are miracles around us. Everyday. God is
still God. He works in His own way on His own time. But make no mistake about
it. He works.
It’s up to us to pay attention. To study His Word more
frequently, more passionately. And with the guidance of the Holy Spirit more
and more of His work will be revealed to us.
Given where my life was headed until that wonderful morning
of June 10, 2012, the fact that my family is still together is yet another of
God’s miracles. And other than my salvation, it’s the one I’m most thankful for
today.
Miracles still happen. We just have to know where to find
them.
This article can also been seen soon at www.J31.org - the Job 31 Ministries website.