So You Blew It. It's Time To Get Back Up.


You don't have to be much of a basketball fan to know the object of the game is to get the ball in the basket. Do that more than your opponent, and you win the game. Yet, there's more to the game than that. A couple nights ago the NY Knicks faced off against the Houston Rockets. When the night was done the Knicks made a higher percentage of their shots than the Rockets. Nonetheless, when the game was finished it was the Rockets who finished as winners. How? The Rockets out rebounded the Knicks.

"And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil." II Timothy 2:26

Everybody misses some shots. The only way to not miss would be to not shoot. What do you do when you miss? You crash the boards and get the rebound. That's important in sports, but more important in life. 
People won't always give you the chance to rise again. For some your shortcoming is how they'll label you forever. Get the rebound anyway. 


It was the historian Froude who wrote, "The worth of a man must be measured by his life, not by his failure under a singular and peculiar trial." People will sometimes want to judge your story by the chapter they walked in on. You can't stop them from doing that, but you can allow your story to continue to be written. You can work to make your next chapter better than the previous one. You can get the rebound.

"The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again." Proverbs 24:16

So, you blew it. Welcome to the club. So did David...and Abraham...and Peter...and me. Everybody misses some shots. When you miss you can quit, or you can crash the board and get the rebound. You can stay in the game so you can shoot again. If you've blown it along the way, and now find yourself on the sideline, it's time to get back in the game. In your spiritual life it's time to repent. To turn away from sin and recover yourself, "out of the snare of the devil." If you've already turned from sin, but guilt is holding you back, it's time to recognize that there is "no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1)

None of us can go backwards. We can, however, get the rebound. We can follow up our missed shot and stay in the game. The victors in sports aren't those who never miss. They are those who never quit. That's true in life as well.

Following the Son,

James A Williams

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