Over the last 24 hours, “Brady’s Back” has been the biggest sports headline in America.
It’s official, Tom Brady is not — I repeat not — done with football yet.
Lol — I’m not gonna lie, when I first read those words yesterday, the first thing I did was google snopes to get the 411. 😂
Those headlines just couldn’t be right — right???
Wasn’t it only a couple of months ago that he announced his retirement???
I’m not even a football fan, but I was intrigued by the headlines…
…and after confirming that it really is true that Tom Brady, the oldest guy in the NFL, is headed back for yet another season as quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, I went from intrigued…to inspired. ❤️
Now, I will admit that I usually hate it when people put professional athletes up on pedestals, showering them with undue adulation, but the reason I find him inspiring has less to do with his success than it has to do with his failure.
As the reigning Super Bowl champs, the bar was set high last year for Tom Brady and the Buccaneers to repeat their championship once more.
When the Bucs fell short of that goal in the playoffs, their season came to a screeching halt — and so did Tom Brady’s career.
Despite all of his previous successes, Brady’s final season had ended in disappointment and failure.
And when he announced his retirement, it felt like a fairytale football career that didn’t get the “happily ever after” it deserved.
Do you ever find yourself feeling like that in your own life sometimes?
Through disappointing seasons of your own life, have you had times where you just want to throw in the towel? Moments where you feel defeated and want to say, “That’s it, I give up.”
I do. At least twice a week.
Maybe I’m being melodramatic (ok, I’m definitely being melodramatic), but sometimes when I’m making my kids’ school lunches at night, I just stand there looking around my house at piles of toys and dirty laundry, hearing them wrestling each other and praying between thuds that they don’t break a bone, and I just stop mid PB&J and think, “So this is it? This is how it all ends???” 😂😂😂
Maybe that’s why when I heard that Tom Brady was coming back, it resonated with me so much. It reminded me of Proverbs 24:16: “For though a righteous man may fall seven times, he still gets up; but the wicked stumble in bad times.”
You too might be down for a moment, but the righteous don’t stay there forever. Dust yourself off and get back up again — every great comeback always starts with a first step.
If Tom Brady can do it — so can you.
Because honestly, if you’re a child of God, no matter what you’re facing, you can rise up again from it — whether it be sin, temptation to sin, trials and turmoil, or just every day day-to-day life.
How do I know you can rise? Because you’ve got something even better than Brady has — you’ve got Jesus.
Brady relies on his own strength and stamina to win the game. But as Christians, our strength comes from Jesus (Isaiah 40:31) who appeared to have been “defeated” in death, only to rise up to eternal victory. And through Him, the Bible says we are “more than conquerors.” (Romans 8:33-39)
And as Tom Brady enters this next season, possibly his last, he still has to wonder whether or not this one will end in victory or defeat.
As Christians, we don’t have to wonder. The victory has already been won for us through Jesus Christ.
“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33
So, don’t give up. Get up.
Stay on His team and make as many comebacks as you need to endure ‘til the end. We may fall, but we will rise back up again…and one day, it will be eternally.
Until next time…
-PWAP