By the time you read this, it will be history, but as I’m writing this, the best tennis players in the world have converged in New York City for the U.S. Open and I’m in tennis-watching heaven.
My husband is flabbergasted, and perhaps slightly annoyed, by my capacity to watch so much tennis on T.V. He doesn’t get it because he never played the sport. I pretty much lived and breathed it for many years, so when I watch a match, I feel almost like I’m hitting each stroke with the players.
I can also ride along, to some extent, on the mental and emotional roller coaster players experience during a match. The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, and the misery of choking. Especially the misery of choking. I snatched plenty of defeats right out of the jaws of victory in my day.
Momentum shifts in tennis matches, as in other sports, are crazy to watch. Even the most elite players seem helpless at times to fight the mojo undercurrent that’s as strong as it is mysterious.
A player might perform flawlessly for quite awhile, painting the lines with screaming groundstrokes and unreturnable serves. But then it’s as if some kind of switch inexplicably flips and everything goes south.
Huge momentum shifts seem especially painful and predictable when a low-ranked player is taking on a superstar. David goes out there with his few little rocks to knock down a tennis Goliath, and it looks for all the world like he’s going to do it. His little pebbles are hitting the mark and the giant is staggering.
But suddenly, the tide goes back out. Little David’s backhands begin to land just beyond the baseline, he dumps a few volleys into the net, and before you know it, his fragile confidence is shot and he’s dragging his rackets back to the locker room in defeat.
It often occurs to me, “If that guy could’ve played every point like it was his first point, before his confidence went down the drain, he could’ve won.”
Athletes who can do that, who can forget about the mistake they just made and focus on the next shot, are the ones who usually end up in the halls of fame. They’re the ones who’ve learned to overcome slow starts, missed shots, aching muscles and bad days.
God likes overcomers, too.
In the second and third chapters of the book of Revelation, there are some pretty great promises for followers of Jesus Christ who overcome, who make it to the end of their lives or the end of time with their faith intact.
God knew it wouldn’t be easy. After all, we can’t be overcomers if there is nothing to overcome, no obstacles to “come over.” This fallen world offers plenty of those. P-l-e-n-t-y.
In life, as in sports, it doesn’t really matter how fast we start– it’s all about how we finish.
If we’re going to finish well, we must learn from our mistakes without allowing them to paralyze us. The cumulative effect of our failures is more than we were meant to bear.
That’s why God’s offer of forgiveness, redemption, and victory over sin through Jesus Christ is the best news we could ever hear … a chance to play every shot like it’s our first shot.
“Not that I have already … become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12)
“Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.” (Hebrews 10:35-36)