The goal seemed attainable enough on our way to the gym...win the game. At least that's what our high school basketball team thought on the way. It was my senior year. We had one of the best basketball teams in the state. Our point guard (Ben) and center (Mario) were considered the best at their positions. Our 2 guard (Jon Mark) was this incredible lock down defender. You could put him on the other team's best scorer and reduce him to 5 points. Our small forward (Mike) was not only a sprinter, but also a high jumper, and could dunk on you in a second. Then our power forward (Doug) had this incredible sense of where the ball was going to miss off the rim and he would be there. To top that off, our next 5 guys off the bench (me, Domingo, Caleb, Matt, and Jason) could have easily started if we were on another team. We were good. Real good. And the team we were about to play wasn't even close and we knew it. As we sat in the locker room, getting ready and waiting for our coach to run through the game plan we were confident. Until he revealed the gameplan. "Guys" he said, "The goal tonight is defense. They better not score more than 20 points tonight for the whole game, or when we have practice tomorrow we won't even touch a basketball." That, by the way, meant we would run until we threw up, and then run some more.
All of the sudden, we weren't so confident. We knew we would win the game, but we weren't so sure about holding a team to 20 points for an entire game! It takes alot out of you to try and keep a team from scoring every time down the court! What was our coach thinking? Why would he give us such a goal and consequence? Unfair? You bet! Impossible? Absolutely!
The game started and it wasn't good. In the first five minutes we just kept exchanging baskets. We score, they score. We score, they score. All the way to where it got to be a tie game 8-8. My coach stood up furiously, yelling for a time out! He looked at me and the other 4 guys next to me and screamed while pointing at each of us, "You, You, You, You, and You get in there!" We all jumped up, kind of surprised as we normally didn't go into the game at least until the 2nd quarter. As the starting 5 came walking off the court a little stunned at being taken out and we were stepping onto the court, my coach yelled at us one instruction, "Don't let them score the rest of the half!"
I can't quite explain what or how it all happened, but for the rest of the half, our coach left us in the game, and we started to believe that we could keep this team from scoring. A steal here, a blocked shot there, a missed shot there. For the next quarter and a half we played harder and faster then ever before and as halftime rolled around, the scoreboard said 45-8! We hadn't let them score the entire time! At halftime, coach used us to threaten the starting 5, letting them know that he has no hesitation about taking them out of the game. The 5 started the half fired up, and through substitutions and playing as a team, the final score was 108-16! We did it! We couldn't believe it! Something that was impossible to us, actually happened! Was there some complaining along the way? Sure. Were there times we didn't believe it could happen? Absolutely. Did we eventually come around to believe it could happen? Yes.
Do you think Abram and Sarah went through some of the same emotions when God was reassurring them that they would have a son at their age (well past retirement)? We know that Sarah laughed at the proposition and eventually they took matters into their own hands by having Abram get another wife basically and have a child with her. Eventually, God reassurred them again and they believed and God made Sarah pregnant. How do you think they felt about their unbelief after Isaac was born? Do you think they would change their attitude, thoughts, and faith toward what God had said to them? I bet they would.
Is there something impossible that God is leading you to do? Something that you can't see the steps for getting from A to F? That's just how God wants and needs it! That means you are going to have to trust Him to get it done! Are you game? Are you ready to give God a chance today? I'm pretty sure He knows what He's doing even if you don't. Let's do the impossible today! Have a great day guys!
Ron Foster
All of the sudden, we weren't so confident. We knew we would win the game, but we weren't so sure about holding a team to 20 points for an entire game! It takes alot out of you to try and keep a team from scoring every time down the court! What was our coach thinking? Why would he give us such a goal and consequence? Unfair? You bet! Impossible? Absolutely!
The game started and it wasn't good. In the first five minutes we just kept exchanging baskets. We score, they score. We score, they score. All the way to where it got to be a tie game 8-8. My coach stood up furiously, yelling for a time out! He looked at me and the other 4 guys next to me and screamed while pointing at each of us, "You, You, You, You, and You get in there!" We all jumped up, kind of surprised as we normally didn't go into the game at least until the 2nd quarter. As the starting 5 came walking off the court a little stunned at being taken out and we were stepping onto the court, my coach yelled at us one instruction, "Don't let them score the rest of the half!"
I can't quite explain what or how it all happened, but for the rest of the half, our coach left us in the game, and we started to believe that we could keep this team from scoring. A steal here, a blocked shot there, a missed shot there. For the next quarter and a half we played harder and faster then ever before and as halftime rolled around, the scoreboard said 45-8! We hadn't let them score the entire time! At halftime, coach used us to threaten the starting 5, letting them know that he has no hesitation about taking them out of the game. The 5 started the half fired up, and through substitutions and playing as a team, the final score was 108-16! We did it! We couldn't believe it! Something that was impossible to us, actually happened! Was there some complaining along the way? Sure. Were there times we didn't believe it could happen? Absolutely. Did we eventually come around to believe it could happen? Yes.
Do you think Abram and Sarah went through some of the same emotions when God was reassurring them that they would have a son at their age (well past retirement)? We know that Sarah laughed at the proposition and eventually they took matters into their own hands by having Abram get another wife basically and have a child with her. Eventually, God reassurred them again and they believed and God made Sarah pregnant. How do you think they felt about their unbelief after Isaac was born? Do you think they would change their attitude, thoughts, and faith toward what God had said to them? I bet they would.
Is there something impossible that God is leading you to do? Something that you can't see the steps for getting from A to F? That's just how God wants and needs it! That means you are going to have to trust Him to get it done! Are you game? Are you ready to give God a chance today? I'm pretty sure He knows what He's doing even if you don't. Let's do the impossible today! Have a great day guys!
Ron Foster
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