Even before Peyton Manning won a Super Bowl with the Indianapolis Colts, he was considered one of the best quarterbacks of all time. What Manning added to that legacy after dealing with multiple potential career-ending neck injuries made him a legend.
Manning missed the whole 2011 season due to his injuries and spinal fusion surgery, which basically ended his career in Indianapolis. But after Manning was cut, he signed with the Denver Broncos and had one of the greatest seasons in NFL history. In 2013, he threw for 5,500 yards and 55 touchdowns. To top it off, he led the team to a Super Bowl win in the 2015-16 season.
Ok, I confess I’m a lifelong Broncos fan. I’m trusting that my cause is helped with many of you who know that before Peyton was a Bronco or a Colt, he was a Volunteer!
Don’t you love a great comeback story?!
The OG of the comeback is none other than Jesus! Jesus appeared as if he was down for the count. He was beaten, nailed to a cross, and laid in a tomb. But He wasn’t finished! Three days later, he got back up. He rose from the dead!
My story, probably like yours, has had its share of setbacks, or pre-comebacks as I like to call them. I say this because I have tried to see life’s misses and messes as opportunities to experience some of the same power that raised Jesus from the grave.
2 Corinthians 4:7-9 tells us that, “We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.”
We are but clay jars – weak, fragile, and messy. But the extraordinary thing about us is that we are made in the Imago Dei – the Image of God - AND, though we are weak, fragile, messy, and dirty, WE HAVE what Paul calls an amazing treasure living in us! What is the treasure? It’s Christ. Christ in us. His power, His peace, and His love in us.
Whether you are a Job, a David, a Rahab, a Jonah, or one of the countless other characters whose stories we find in the Bible, because we are image bearers and Christ carriers, we have a reason and the resources to persevere. Even when we miss the shot and feel like we’ve lost everything, we can endure. Christ in us can help us get off the ground and turn things back around. Proverbs 24:16 tells us that “the godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.”
Having perspective, eternal perspective, helps a ton. It’s so motivating to know that it’s not over until He says it’s over. And for those in Christ, it’s never over. There is always room for a comeback – no matter the setback. There is always strength available from Christ to bounce back, even when you’ve been beaten down at the hands of another or your own.
I’ve been the hero and the zero. I’ve hung my head, and I’ve raised my hands. I know which one feels better. But I also know which one made me better. Life’s setbacks have made me better. They provide an opportunity for us to humbly trust not in our own strength and wisdom, but to trust in Jesus and choose the long journey of obedience.
Read and re-read these encouraging words from 2 Corinthians 4:16,17: “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!”
_______________________
This Sunday Fellowship celebrates 25 years of ministry, 25 years of God’s goodness and faithfulness! I’ve heard enough stories and read enough of Monty’s book to know that it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. There have been quite a few setbacks along the way. There have been misses and messes, and trust me when I say, there are more in our future. But God! God loves a good comeback story! That’s our church. That’s His church. The church of the comeback.... for Christ has declared, “I will build my church and even the gates of hell shall not prevail against it!” Trust and obey!