Overcoming Defeat: January 15th Devotional

 

Overcoming Defeat

Psalm 27:13-14

January 15th Devotional

      On this day in 1967, the Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFL-NFL World Championship Game (better known as the Super Bowl).  The game kicked off at 4:15 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.  This would be the first time that the two major football leagues would battle against each other for a championship.  The NFL was the established league, starting in 1920.  The AFL was an upstart league that was started in 1959.  Many viewed the AFL as a sub-par league.  Most of the players that were rejected by the NFL or went undrafted played in the AFL.  The Packers entered the game with only two losses.  They barely beat the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL championship game.  They were coached by the famous Vince Lombardi.  Lombardi turned the Packers from a joke to a competitor.  They had won multiple NFL championships prior to the Super Bowl.  The team was led by Quarterback Bart Starr and a relentless defense.  Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs were coached by Hank Stram who found success at Purdue and the Chiefs.  The Chiefs were an offensive juggernaut.  They were the highest-scoring team in the AFL.  They beat the Buffalo Bills 31-7 in the AFL championship game.  They were led by Ken Dawson (a Purdue graduate) and a trifecta of running backs.  Mike Garrett, Bert Coan, and Curtis McClinton were all leading rushers in the AFL.  The coin toss was won by the Packers and the game started.  Both teams played incredibly physical football in the first half.  The Chiefs were projected to lose by 14 but held the Packers to a 14-10 lead at the half.  Early in the third quarter Packer Willie Ward intercepted Dawson and nearly scored a touchdown.  That spark uncorked the Packer's defense, scoring 21 unanswered points in the second half.  The Packers would win the first Super Bowl with a score of 35-10.   

      The Chiefs would not allow defeat to define them.  They would continue to compete and get better.  They would eventually win Super Bowl four over the highly favored Minnesota Vikings.  Defeat stinks in all areas of life.  None of us have ever played for an immaculate team.  Most of us remember our first defeat more than our first victory.  Defeats often live with us longer, hurt more, and leave deeper memories.  Defeat doesn’t just happen on a field or court, it affects us in every area.  It affects our jobs, our marriages, our parenting, our ministry, our walk with Jesus, etc.  We have all had to deal with the bitter taste of defeat.  We get knocked down.  David in Psalm 27 was dealing with those same feelings of defeat.  David was being aggressively pursued by his enemies, and it looked as if David’s life would end in defeat and despair.  But then David writes these comforting words “I would have lost heart unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord (verses 13-14).”  David was down, but not out.  David took his eyes off his assailants and looked to God.  When his eyes of faith locked eyes with heaven he found God’s goodness.  Often in defeat, we struggle to find anything good, but beloved even when we fail and stumble we can still find God’s unfailing goodness.  We can also find courage and strength in the Lord.  Defeat saps our strength, and rightfully so.  We are spiritually defeated because we tried to do something on our own, something independent of the Lord.  In our exhaustion we find our hearts strengthened because we have looked to God.  Are you feeling defeated?  Are you finding yourself succumbing to temptation more and more?  Then look to the goodness of God and find the courage to not give up or give in.