“Struck Down, But Not Destroyed

Unless you live in a media-vacuum, you probably know that the Super Bowl was yesterday and that the Seattle Seahawks were in it for the first time in their 30-year franchise history.  And you probably know by now that the Seahawks lost.  Since I’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest all of my adult life, the Seahawks are my team (growing up outside of Detroit doesn't leave me many other options). So understand that I, along with millions of other Pacific Nor’westers, are currently feeling a deep sense of disappointment – and I’m not even that big of a football fan.  The expectations of us Nor’westers were pretty high.  The entire Northwest was electrified, fully expecting the Hawks to win (despite the prejudice of the national media).  The amount of build-up to the Super Bowl is incredible, so incredible in fact, that it is absolutely devastating for the losing team.  And the greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment.  So after yesterday’s devastating loss,  I wondered what was on the minds of the Seahawks players and coach Mike Holmgren.  Were they already thinking about next year?  Will they be able to overcome this disappointment, come back next year and do it again?  Will they go to the Super Bowl again and win next time?  Only time will tell, but that will be the test of their character as a team. 

And that’s the test of our character as Christians.  Life is full of disappointments, setbacks and failures – both small and big.  Some are due to our own actions and choices, others due to circumstances beyond our control.  Some are life-shaking, others simply ruin your day.  Perhaps you’ve experienced the disappointment of a failed marriage or a child that has rebelled and gone into the world.  Or maybe you’ve been fired from a job or passed over for a promotion.  Or maybe you’ve experienced a devastating loss such as those who went through Hurricane Katrina, 9-11 or the Tsunami.  Or perhaps your team just didn’t win this time

No matter the type or degree of disappointment you have experienced, you are not alone.  We have many examples in the Bible of great men who experienced great disappointment.  We can think of Job who lost everything in a single, devastating “act of God”.  Or of King David, who experienced that deep sense of shame and disappointment in one’s self, having committed adultery and then murder to cover it up.  Peter likewise felt the shame of self-disappointment, having denied his Lord.  Jesus faced a different kind of disappointment, i.e., the utter rejection by his own people.  As did the apostle Paul.  But for each of these men (and the Lord), it was their response to disappointment that proved their greatness.  Job refused to curse or reject God.  David and Peter repented and rebounded from their failures.  Jesus continued to love.  Paul kept pressing on.  In fact, Paul’s words in 2 Cor 4.8-9 have a victorious ring to them: “…We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Cor 4.8-9).  Maybe the Seahawks should write these words on their locker room wall.  Maybe we should write them in our heart.

 © 2006 Randy Hohf