It looked like it was going to happen, AGAIN…

If you have been around me long enough, you are probably aware that I am a fan of Tom Brady. Well, not exactly a fan in the traditional sense. I own no jerseys, make no bets, nor do I boast in victory or weep in defeat. But I am a student of excellence and a student of the game , and it is impossible to be either and not be impressed with Tom Brady. He exemplifies athletic excellence, having racked up a boatload of distinctions in his 22 year career in the National Football League, including a record seven Super Bowl wins. Brady has always found a way to win.

And it looked like he was going to win again, in spite of seemingly impossible odds. One of the reasons I like Brady is because he has mastered the art of the comeback. He is second in NFL History in 4th quarter comebacks (42), and first in playoff 4th quarter comebacks (9). So this past Sunday, it looked like it was going to happen again. With seven minutes left in the 3rd quarter, Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers were trailing the Los Angeles Rams 27-3. Then, Brady came storming back, and with 42 seconds left in the forth quarter tied the score. It looked like it was going to happen, AGAIN. Another comeback.

But it didn’t happen. With 28 seconds left on the clock, the Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford connected with Cooper Kupp (pictured above) on a pass that set up the game winning field goal. Game over. Brady lost. Rams won. And my phone began to buzz incessantly with nasty emojis from all the Brady haters. I was gracious in defeat.

That. Darn. Cooper. Kupp. LOL

Cooper Kupp has been one of the great stories of this season. He is the league leader in receiving yards, receiving catches, and receiving touchdowns—a pretty impressive feat for someone who did not attend a highly ranked college, was not drafted by an NFL team, and who was considered too small and too slow by most observers when he first entered the league. But the statistic that I found most impressive about Kupp is that he is also the league leader among receivers in yards after contact.

That little known statistic measures how many yards a receiver gains after he catches a pass and is attempted to be tackled by an opposing player. It measures how much further someone goes after an attempt is made to bring them down. Well the guy who caught the pass that thwarted Brady’ comeback led the league in doing that. I may have a new hero (LO,L, just kidding). I absolutely looovvvveee that statistic.

I love that statistic because it not only applies to football. It also applies to life. Rarely do any of us achieve our goals without opposing forces trying to stop our progress. We all will inevitably face barriers, roadblocks, enemies, haters. and obstacles on our way to any place worth going. Unfortunately, far too many of us stop after we get hit.

After we get hit with bad news, we stop believing.

After we get hit with betrayal, we stop loving.

After we get hit with disappointment, we stop reaching.

After we get hit with uncertainty, we stop praying.

After we get hit with failure, we stop trying.

After we get hit with pain, we stop adapting.

But as the poet Edgar Guest reminded us, “we must stick to the fight when we are hardest hit—it’s when things seems worst that we must not quit.” We have to learn how to keep going after life hits us. It’s called yards after contact.

Paul wrote some powerful words that I want you to etch on the tablets of your hearts.. in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (MSG), he says:

We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken.

As Christians, God has promised to give us the strength we need to keep going after we have been hit. So when we are hit by troubles, we refuse to be demoralized; when we are hit by uncertainty and don’t know what we do, we have the assurance that God knows what to do; when we are hit by natural and unnatural terrors, we can endure because God is right by our side; and when we are hit and fall, we can be confident that nothing has the power to break us.

I can guarantee that life will hit you. Hard. Unexpectedly. And often.

But when it does, hold on to the ball.

Hold on to your faith

Hold on to your dreams.

Hold on to God’s unchanging had.