Tebow, Paul, Me and Y'all or It's The Same Playing Field

BELIEVE!

Tim Tebow did not shine the first three and a half quarters of the Bronco/Dolphin game last week.
It was pretty ugly.
I sat and watched, play after play.
Nothing went right.
The ball was thrown either too far, too short, too high....

It did not look good.

I've been a Tebow fan since his Florida days.
I feel like he's one of my kids, so watching was a painful experience.


Then, it happened. Fourth quarter...four minutes, Demarius Thomas goes in for a touchdown.
Score: 15-7.
The Broncos were on the board.
Whew. 'So glad they scored.
What more could I ask for with so little time on the clock.
Then, with seventeen seconds left in the game, Daniel Fells goes in for a touchdown, Tebow makes the two point conversion.
Score: 15-15!
Overtime!
Who would have thought.
I know Miami was sure it was over for Tebow and the Broncos.

I was ecstatic!
What a turnaround!
With seven minutes left in overtime, Prater kicks a field goal (he had missed two shorter field goals earlier in th game) - and he makes it.
Broncos win! Score: 18-15.

I'm still reeling at what reporters have called, 'a near miracle'.
The boys in blue and orange kept on believing.
And it paid off! First win at Sun Life Stadium for the Broncos against the Dolphins in franchise history!


Sometimes life is like that Bronco game.
There have been times I've made mistakes and heard the jeers from the opposing side.
"You're no good...you'll never amount to anything...you really blew it this time..."
There have been times when I've tried so hard, gotten so prepared, only to have setback after setback...things falling apart before my eyes.
I've wondered, "Should I be here?" "Did I make a mistake?"
Everything goes wrong. It looks like I don't know what I'm doing.


The Broncos didn't look like they had anything together on Sunday.
But, in the end, it all came together.

How often have I seen that.
God comes through.
Doors open, things change, the sun shines again.

Tim Tebow knew things weren't going well, but he kept his head.
He didn't give up, back down, or get discouraged.
He and the guys in the huddle encouraged each other.
And it worked.

The apostle Paul knew all about setbacks.
Like a quarterback, Paul knew what it was to be cheered on. He also knew what it was like to be booed and jeered.
The crowd turned on him... wanting to kill  him.
Yet, Paul didn't give up.
He kept on believing.
He wrote to Timothy, "Fight the good fight of faith."
In Philippians Paul wrote, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do. Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Sometimes it may seem I'm trailing in the fourth quarter.
But I know that I know, my Father will see me through.
The score will change.
I am victorious in Christ.
I press on.