Is Mr. God Bigger than My Daddy?

Ten, nine, eight…the count down had began as Michelle watched the game while sitting with her husband Ron and youngest son Mikey. They were excited because Ronnie, the oldest son, who was fourteen, was playing in the high school basketball championship. He was only a freshman in high school and was considered one of the top players in the city. A thousand memories begin to flash through her mind as she watch the final countdown. She thought about her family and the memories of her children growing up, her husband who had given his life to Christ just a couple of years ago and of course how blessed she was to have two beautiful sons. Ronnie’s team was down by a point and the ball was in his hands. Before she realized it she was praying, “Lord, give him wisdom and strength to do the right thing.”

Coach Young had never been in a championship game, but this young freshman had made it possible. He never thought they would get to the final game in the tournament but there they were, playing their hearts out and still in the game. He thought this is the ideal situation we wanted. The clock running down, we have a chance to win the game and the ball is in the hands of my best player.

Ronnie had taken the outlet pass and was running towards his basket. He could hear the fans counting down in the gym and he could see the clock was down to eight seconds. He dribbled to the center of the court and was picked up by two defenders that were pressing him. There wasn’t anyone to throw the ball to and he had two players determined to stop him in the final seconds. He was right handed so they over guarded him to his right. He took a dribble to his right and then crossed over to the left and split the defenders. Five, four, three was the countdown as he approached the basket. He had escaped one of the players, but the other player was tenaciously hanging on to him. Shoot the ball; shoot the ball was the plea from the sidelines. Ronnie took the ball up for the shot, but could feel the presence of the opposing player. Everything was now in slow motion and in his head there was total silence. He could see the crowd standing behind the goal but someone had turned off the sound. He focused on the rim and thought to himself, I have made this shot a hundred times in practice and the Lord willing, I can make this one. As he focused the rim became clear but this time it seemed much smaller than during the game. The fans in the background became a blur, and then totally disappeared and he could only see the rim, which seemed to get even smaller. He felt the pressure of the other player against his body as he released the ball and went tumbling to the floor. “Crash,” was the sound as he hit the floor flat on his back and knocked the wind from his body. He peered upward and could see the ball circling the cylinder trying to decide whether to go in or out. Through the silence came the distinct sound of the buzzer ending the game. The ball was still on the rim and everything was still in slow motion.

“Lord please let it go in,” he thought as he watched impatiently from the floor.