For those schools and their fans, it was a heartbreaking day. But the great teams always find a way to recover. Undoubtedly, their coaching staffs were back at work early Sunday morning. Their task was to determine what went wrong and how to finish the season strong.
Setbacks are a part of life. We all experience them. The question is how do we respond when a setback comes our way? Consider this story from the life of William Carey, the Father of Modern Missions.
After Carey was well established in his pioneer missionary work in India, his supporters in England sent a printer to assist him. Soon the two men were turning out portions of the Bible for distribution. Carey had spent many years learning the language so that he could produce the scriptures in the local dialect. He had also prepared dictionaries and grammars for the use of his successors. One day while Carey was away, a fire broke out and completely destroyed the building, the presses, many Bibles, and the precious manuscripts, dictionaries, and grammars. Many years of work literally went up in smoke!
When he returned and was told of the tragic loss, he showed no sign of despair or impatience. Instead, he knelt and thanked God that he still had the strength to do the work over again. He started immediately, not wasting a moment in self-pity. Before his death, he had duplicated and even improved on his earlier achievements.
When setbacks come our way we can do one of two things: give up or get up! We can resign in frustration and despair, or we can refocus and hit it again with a never-say-die attitude.
So be encouraged today, even in the midst of a temporary setback. Failure is not final if we respond to it correctly. Learn from it and get back in the game. With the Lord’s help you will win again!
Pastor Todd Weston