March Madness

The month of March is filled with "swift transition". The weather is in the process of changing. We leave for work in the morning and the temperature is freezing cold, but by the time we get off from work and get home, on the same day, the temperature is is in the 60's or 70's and the sun is shining bright. For sports fans, March is the time of year that the NCAA Basketball tournament occurs. It is a single elimination contest, so if a team loses, regardless of their record all year, and their rank in the tournament, they go home and the winner advances to the next round. Every year, some unknown team shocks the world and defeats a team that all of the so-called "experts" predicted would be a contender for the national title.

Most coaches employ a defensive strategy called a "press". This strategy involves putting incredible pressure on the Point Guard, who is the leader on the floor for the team and the person who is usually dribbling the ball upcourt. By pressing the guard, and putting stress on him/her, the defensive team hopes to force the point guard to make a poor decision, which will result in the defensive team getting the ball and scoring points.

The enemy works on us as Christians in much the same way. From time to time, he puts undue pressure on us, in the hope that we will step outside of God's favor and protection, thus making us vulnerable to his attacks. If we were honest with ourselves, we have all succumbed to March Madness in our Christian Walk. The way to defeat the press is to either pass the ball over the top of it, or to "punch" through it. Punching through the press takes offseason training in which the point guard has to do extensive cardio and running so that he/she has the endurance to run past the defenders or push past them. In our faith walk, Our Heavenly Father also tries to get us to do off season endurance work, so that when the enemy "comes in like flood", we have the strength and endurance to punch through our trials and tribulations and get the victory. The next time that we feel the pressure of the enemy trying to get us to make a rush decision, let's seek God's face and thank Him for the offseason training that allows us to push through the press and receive the overhead pass from Christ, which is our blessing and ultimate victory. #BeBlessed #BlessingsOnBlessings 🙏🏾😇❤️