March Madness & the Bracket Busters

And so it begins! March Madness is underway and people's brackets are left in shambles by the unshaken vengeance of the underdogs.

Guys scratching and clawing and fighting their way back to live to see another day. While higher-seeded perhaps more talented teams are left wondering, "What just happened?"

How devastating is it to see your dreams dashed in a matter of 40 minutes? Spending your entire life hoping for that "One Shining Moment!"

The aftermath has a stigma of questions like "What's next? Where do I go from here?" Having spent so much time, money, and attention developing this one area of your life and wondering if there's anything else in life worth the risk and motivation to pursue another dream.

What do you when the weight of failure seems so daunting that you even begin to question your own existence? The one question, if we're honest, that we want to have answered is "Why am I here?" Is there more to life than breathing, eating, working, sleeping?

There was a man by the name of Joseph who was favored by his father. Maybe you've heard his story. He had been given the illustrious coat of many colors. Yet, his brothers despised him and they sold him into slavery.

While at Potiphar's house, he was the object of a woman's promiscuous advances where his integrity landed him in jail.

Where's this guy's big break? Why on earth was he even here? To sit in jail for the rest of his life?

Joseph interprets a few dreams and even warns Pharaoh of the famine that's on its way. All the while, he consistently acts out of a posture of simple obedience. As the famine gives way to pleas for food and nourishment, he finally sees his purpose; to save his family.

All the circumstances of his life, both good and bad, were being used to develop a man of character where he would ultimately do what's right in fulfilling God's plan of salvation of His people.

God does not see our situation as a "bracket buster." He sees our circumstances as "One Shining Moment," a chance to let lives of character and grace shine among the world in such a way that His presence is undeniable.

God is no less present in the pit or in the prison than in the palace. He is taking everything in life, the good, the bad, and the ugly, and He's using it to make something glorious. But we must learn to trust that what He's doing really is for our good and for His glory!