Basketball: A Story of Redemption

A Series from the Psalms
God is my… Redeemer
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Psalm 32

 [God is many things to many people. In this series, we will be looking at various Psalms that completes the statement “God is my…” Maybe ultimately it answers the question that we all ask at some point in our life, “Who is God to me?”.]

  

When I was in college, I played on an intramural basketball team with some friends from my dorm floor: Michigan Tech University, Fifth floor of Coed Hall. One particular game sticks in my memory because the coach, who was a good friend, didn’t play me at all... the whole game.

 

Rather than saying something to him during the game, I sat quietly, fuming. 

As the clock clicked down to double zeroes, the anger inside of me built more and more. By the end of the game, I was like a pressure cooker ready to explode. Afterwards, when we were in the locker room, I decided to confront him.

 

At first, he was apologetic. But when I told him that he was self-centered, he responded aggressively and told me that I was self-centered too. I had no idea how to respond because that was not at all how I viewed myself... but it was true.

 

The fourth and fifth steps of addiction recovery point out just how important it is to be honest with yourself, and then to admit “the exact nature of your wrongs” to God, yourself and another person. This is exactly what David wrote about in Psalm 32.

 

³ When I kept it all inside,
    my bones turned to powder,
    my words became daylong groans.

⁴ The pressure never let up;
    all the juices of my life dried up.

⁵ Then I let it all out;
    I said, “I’ll come clean about my failures to God.”

Suddenly the pressure was gone—
    my guilt dissolved,
    my sin disappeared.        MSG

 

When I confronted my friend, I had no idea that I was just as self-centered as I thought he was. Regardless, the Lord is our redeemer. He loves us and accepts us where we’re at. Sometimes he even works in our lives through friends playing basketball to show His redeeming love.

 

⁸ The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.

    I will advise you and watch over you.
⁹ Do not be like a senseless horse or mule
    that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.”          NLT

 

¹⁰ Many are the woes of the wicked,
    but the Lord’s unfailing love
    surrounds the one who trusts in him. NIV

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams