I’m not a Cleveland Cavaliers fan. I’m not a Lebron James fan either, but I do believe in giving credit where credit is due: the man is bad – great – simply on another level than his peers.
But what I like about Lebron is that while the media and fans all over the world credit his athletic ability to do the unthinkable (like coming back from an 0-2 start against the young, hungry, and more talented Boston Celtics and being one game away from closing in on an eighth straight NBA finals appearance) Lebron, however, credits it all to his faith in Jesus Christ.
This may come as a surprise to some fans because it’s hardly ever highlighted in the media. Born and raised in Akron, Ohio, Lebron first gained national attention playing for St. Vincent-St. Mary Catholic High School.
But his faith in Jesus Christ was first highlighted by the mass media in 2010 as Lebron watched as fellow-player Rodney Stuckey suffered a seizure on the court and was taken to Cleveland Clinic Hospital. Lebron responded by calling the players together into a prayer circle, where he prayed to “our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” for healing, he told reporters afterward.
Fast forward to last night’s game: facing elimination and running on fumes, Lebron credits digging deep inside of himself, and turning to his faith to produce 46-points and 12 rebounds for a 109-99 victory over the Boston Celtics, forcing a game seven on Sunday.
I sat and watched in awe as Lebron nailed back-to-back step-back 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter, pounding his chest down the court in celebration of leading his team to an unlikely victory when just hours prior, many basketball experts, analysts, and fans agreed that it looked like Lebron’s reign of making it to the NBA finals was over.
Whether he is able to pull off the victory tomorrow remains to be seen, but as Christians, we all can be encouraged in knowing that:
just as it was with Lebron and the Celtics, God often allows circumstances that look like the enemy is going to win. Click To TweetPerhaps one of the clearest pictures of this is in Exodus Chapter 14, where the Israelites had been freed from slavery and found themselves stuck at the Red Sea. The text says that “God” hardened the heart of Pharaoh.
Exodus Chapter 14: 5-9 says, “he took six hundred choice chariots and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every one of them. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel.”
In seeing this, the Israelites were frightened and they complained that Moses had led them out of Egypt to be trapped at the Red Sea and overtaken by the Egyptians.
You see, it looked like the enemy was going to win, and often times, in the life of the believer, it often seems like the forces of evil are winning.
But please be encouraged and know that that’s often how God operates: it’s supposed to look like the enemy is winning so that He can get glory out of the story.
In this story, God used Moses to part the Red Sea, making way for the Israelites in a seemingly impossible situation….and once the Egyptians tried to go through the same path the Israelites traveled, God, through Moses, closed the Red Sea, drowning the Egyptians, never to be seen again.
So on today, regardless of your circumstances, regardless of what you’re going through, regardless of what it looks like, be encouraged that through faith in Him, God can and will do the impossible. Just ask Lebron James.