Missed Shots

Michael Jordan once said “ I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Has that ever happened to you?  You’ve dropped the ball when someone asked you to carry it.  You’ve missed a shot... Perhaps you feel the sting of failure as a parent... a husband... a wife... a student... or even as a child of God.   You’ve wanted to give up and quit... you’ve wanted to walk away... and you’ve wondered if God knew you were going through any of it.  Today’s verse is just for you. 

God’s word says that we are to run the race of life “with endurance.”  We are to be strong...steadfast...and determined.  Being sure all the while to keep our eyes on He who never failed... Jesus Christ.  Michael Jordan may have missed some baskets, but he wasn’t a failure.  You’ve missed a few things too... but I would define you in the same way.   You aren’t a failure.  People are counting on you to stay on your feet and keep at it.  The race God has for you is specifically yours... your lane... your time.  Run with faith.  Go at it with your head up, your eyes on God, and the thought of permanent failure banned from your vocabulary.  Will you slip up?  Sure.  Learn from it.  Fail forward.  God trusts you with your mission... He has given you potential... live boldly! 

Created for Greatness

Mary Fasano’s parents pulled her out of eighth grade so she could work in a cotton mill in Rhode Island.  Fifty-five years later, she made a major decision.  She decided that she was going to go back to school to complete her education.  At 71, she completed her coursework and received her high school diploma… but she wasn’t done yet!  She signed up for Harvard University’s extension program and took one class at a time.  Week after week, she drove the twenty miles to the school… and did so for seventeen years!  In June of 2003, Mary Fasano graduated from Harvard at the age of 89.

Many called her crazy.

Many would have told her that her dream was impossible.

But what they forgot…?  Something is impossible ONLY until it is accomplished.

Mary lived her life by this truth from Matthew 19:26 “For nothing is impossible with God”

Today you may be facing something that nobody else believes in but you.   It’s a mountain that’s never been climbed… and achievement the world’s never seen… a way of doing something that’s never been done.  Be bold.  Read that verse above over and over until it weaves its way into the fabric of your heart.  You have been created for greatness… and your greatest competition is the status quo.  The odds of success mean nothing when you have God on your side.  He sets the odds.  He gets you through.  And He will equip you with everything you need to push onward.  Seize the day.  Take your dreams back from the critics because someday you will be dancing in victory while the doubters stand silent.