March Madness

There's only one way to pick a winner.

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.(Philippians 4:6-7, NIV 2011 Edition)

It's that time of year again. Brackets have been filled out and busted up, underdogs are feeling like champions, and college-aged fans from everywhere are trading in trips to the beach to see their teams play on the hard court. Yep, March Madness is in full effect and no team knows whether or not it will live to play another game of basketball or not after each round. We've already seen a few surprising upsets and some incredible games that we'll remember for quite sometime. The madness surrounding it all - the ups and downs, the uncertainty, victory, defeat - reminds me of our daily lives.

Bracketology. Every day we are faced with decisions or situations that have more than one potential outcome yet we either have no control or are unsure of what's best. Some situations seem a bit more predictable like a 1 vs 16 seed match-up but other times we're faced with the sneaky 8 vs 9, where both options look enticing. So what do we do in either of those times? We pray and petition.

Picking a winner. Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians that we should not be anxious about anything but, in gladness, we should turn our desires and prayers over to God. With the number of decisions we have to make and situations we're faced with on a daily basis we can't possibly pick the right option each time. Too much - stress, anxiety, hunger, anger, etc. - can throw us off our game. Instead we should just turn the decisions over to Him and seek his answer and response.

Let the games play out. Once we turn over our decisions to God, all we can do is let the games play out. The stronger our faith in Him, the greater level of peace we experience in letting Him choose a winner. Just like in the NCAA tournament, He may pick the option that we really don't want to win but if it's from Him then it's for our best. What we may see as a loss may really be for our gain. Whereas we see one decision at a time, God sees the full bracket - even things that we cannot see. If we peacefully and joyfully turn our decisions over to Him and let things play out, we're sure to be a winner at the end of the tourney.

Bonus Coverage: Israel Houghton ft. Fred Hammond - Surprises

...He Knows

Silence can speak louder than words.

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God." (Romans 8:26-27. NIV 2011 Edition)

When I was a kid growing up, one of my most favorite things to do would be to lay on my mother's lap as she peacefully rubbed my back. This was one of the intimate, mother-to-son moments that we shared where neither of us had to say anything at all yet our hearts would talk to one another, letting each other know that we were both in a safe place. Now I can't remember if in these moments I would pray or not but I do remember times when my mother would softly ask "are you hungry?" "How did she know?" I'd often wonder, but I would calmly reply with a "yes." After our moment was over, she'd go downstairs and fix something for me while I eagerly yet peaceably awaited the food. Sure enough, to my delight, she would bring the food upstairs and set it up in front of me and allow me to eat as we sat and watched TV for the rest of the evening until bedtime.

...He Knows.

If we can be honest, sometimes in life we really don't know what to pray for. Sometimes the right thing to do feels like it's behind Door #1, #2, or #3 and we're left guessing which one to pick. Also, sometimes we wind up picking the wrong doors and find ourselves hurt in the process. But even in the midst of our uncertainty, God knows what's on our mind and He knows the best thing for us to do. The bible says that God intercedes on behalf of our moanings and groanings, sort of like how my mom was able to tell that I was hungry and I didn't even have to say a word. Not only does He know what is causing our discomfort and weakness, He knows the right things to cure our voiceless petitions.

How do we get to a place where this silent conversation can occur best? We should offer up our quiet time just like David, and allow God to lead us into his green pastures. This will allow for us to freely express what is on our hearts through prayer and conversation with God. If you get away from the grind and get away from the noise, it doesn't matter if we say anything at all. God knows, and will search our hearts for our petition. And who better to operate on our behalf than the one who writes out our destiny?