This past weekend I got the opportunity to sit still for
long enough to watch a couple games. Both involved players I love to see play…
The first was a college game that included my favorite
player Tyler Lewis. I have written about T many times in devotions because he
has such an incredible awareness of what is going on during a game. This kid
not only sees the traps coming up but he also seems to be able to see how the
play will unfold after each pass. I joked, as far back as when he was in middle
school, that he knew what the opponent was going to do before the opponent
knew. As a result it makes T very, very hard to lure into a trap; yet that
doesn’t mean he always avoids them. In Saturday’s game the opponent went into a
frenetic press in an attempt to come back on Tyler’s team. Tyler caught the
ball on the inbounds play in a rough position and in an effort to dribble out
of the trap was called for an offensive foul. It is very rare for him to commit
a turnover, especially in that type of circumstance. (Tyler’s team did end up
winning in overtime… it was an exciting game.)
The second game I watched was an NBA game featuring some
great players. Oklahoma City ended up losing in overtime to Golden State and
the tipping point was a trap that led to a score… In spite of a brilliant game
Kevin Durant took an inbounds pass on the base line in the corner and the
strange thing is he got the pass in the same exact trap zone that Tyler
received his in the college game… But instead of trying to dribble out of the
trap and charging, Kevin picked up his dribble allowing the trap to sink in
further and in turn threw a horrible pass to half court that was intercepted.
That pass led to a foul on a Golden State shooter with less than a second to
go; and the free throws tied the game sending it to overtime where Golden State
went on to victory…
In either circumstance the guys could have called a
timeout to simply remove themselves from the trap; and if their teams were out
of timeouts they could have just held the ball… yes, that would lead to a
turnover but it would allow your team to set its defense instead of getting
scored on easily.
The point this week is about how we handle life’s traps
when we find ourselves stuck…
First is the promise that prayer (Time Outs) will help.
Whatever you are “trapped in”, if you don’t see a clear path out then call
“Time Out”! Get into the huddle with God and seek His truth to set up a new
plan… The reality is that “traps” can
cause us to not think clearly, to panic; as a result we are admonished that
part of “walking circumspectly” (Eph 5:15), or seeing the court, involves
making sure you “understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Eph 5: 17) How can
you make a smart play? Get time away from the action, with the Coach, to get
instructions…
Second, don’t act without clear vision. Making “bad
passes” usually ends up “bad”! Do not blindly make decisions. One of the things
I try to teach my kids and try to live by is “when in doubt don’t!” Traps are
there to try to make you mess up commit turnovers.) Daily I try to spend time
in the Proverbs and over and over again it admonishes us to make wise choices,
avoid foolish choices (and people), listen to instruction, etc.
Bottom line this week is that I daily deal with people
that have found themselves in bad situations, made rash decisions, and now are
facing the consequences! In life you will face “traps”; find and make right
choices (Biblical God-choices.) Remember “bad choices usually end in bad
results!”
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