August 24, 2020 - Luka and Playoff P

Being in the midst of the NBA playoffs, there is a lot of chatter about the guys that are lighting it up… and the guys that are stinking it up…

From the positive side I just saw an article on Luka Doncic talking about how he is built to handle the pressure… thrives in it; on the negative, and in the same series, I am seeing many writing/commenting about Paul George who has not played well at all on the offensive end.

Paul George is an NBA superstar and is typically referred to as PG13… yet in past years, at playoff time, has been labeled “Playoff P” for his great play… now this year I am seeing headlines like “Playoff P is Missing in Action!”

The reality is that Paul George may simply be in a shooting slump, and he does typically affect the game positively in many other ways; or maybe there is some different type of pressure now? You see this year, beyond any other in his career, he is with a team with the highest expectations. They have been predicted by many to win it all, yet currently are in a really tight battle just to get through the first round.

I’m not writing this to write off Paul George; he may bounce backs with huge games to carry his team through… BUT so far his play has reminded me of a verse found in Proverbs 24:

10 If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.

The Message says it this way: 10 If you fall to pieces in a crisis, there wasn’t much to you in the first place.

Times are difficult right now… we are facing many crises in our culture, and they may have led to personal crises of health or finances or… I know I am personally facing a lot of struggles. So how do we keep from fainting or falling to pieces?

The logical spiritual answer is to trust God; yet in our humanity it is easy to allow our brains to swim around in the negative circumstances… trying to figure things out… and face “paralysis by analysis.” But the Biblical formula I see for fighting through and showing strength is to focus on meeting the needs of others…

I have written in the past about how the Apostle Paul found joy in the midst of struggles by serving and praying for others needs instead of focusing on his personal needs. And as I was prepping for this devotion the next verse in Proverbs 24 jumped out:

11 Deliver those who are drawn toward death, and hold back those stumbling to slaughter.

The Message starts the verse this way: 11-12 Rescue the perishing; don’t hesitate to step in and help. If you say, “Hey, that’s none of my business,” will that get you off the hook? Someone is watching you closely, you know--- someone not impressed with weak excuses.

I’m not Paul George’s shooting coach, but I know when a player is slumping, it is often hard to come out of it because doubts (hesitation) set in… thus messing up the shooting rhythm.

I don’t know what you are facing today, and I am speaking heavily to myself, but we can’t hesitate to serve others because of our personal adversity. Let’s Go MAD (Make A Difference) in someone else’s life today… in turn it will Make A Difference in our personal lives!