Fitting In God

             It was early in January of 2023 and I was at work one evening. It was a relatively slow night and I

didn’t have a lot to work on so I turned on the Rose Bowl game in the background. As the night wore on,

the programming on ESPN eventually turned to the Monday Night Football game featuring the Cincinnati

Bengals and the Buffalo Bills, two teams who were in a tight playoff race. As I worked, I periodically would

look up at the TV to see the game. With two offenses as good as the Bills and Bengals, I figured it would be

a high-scoring game, and based on scores on the first possession for both teams, it appeared I was correct.  

However, with 5:58 left on the clock in the first quarter, the game stopped abruptly following an injury to Bills safety Damar Hamlin, a second-year player out of Pitt. At first, I thought it was a neck or head injury related to the tackle Hamlin had just made on Bengals wide receiver, Tee Higgins. As the medical staff continued to work on Hamlin, it became quickly apparent the situation was quite serious. Then word came from the reporters that medical experts were administering CPR with the use of an AED on Hamlin. My stomach dropped, devastated by the tragic turn of events of the evening. 

All through the rest of the night my eyes continually drifted to the TV, hoping for word on Hamlin after he was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. Eventually, that word came. Hamlin had suffered cardiac arrest, been revived on the field prior to being transported, and now lay in critical condition at UC Medical Center in Cincinnati. Throughout the whole incident, I was deeply concerned about Hamlin, his family, the teams, and everyone who had witnessed such a traumatic scene at a football game. 

But one thought continually came back to me as I listened to the various ESPN broadcasters and reports and casually scrolled through my Twitter feed. Since when has prayer been of interest to secular broadcasters, athletes, and the general public? The call for prayers and the acknowledgment of prayer as a workable solution was more common that Monday night on ESPN than it is in most churches Sunday morning. It blew my mind just how many people took to social media asking people to be in prayer for an individual that was, all things considered, quite obscure in levels of popularity and fame. 

It was easy for me in that situation to become very critical of people who generally live without any willingness to acknowledge a higher power but when tragedy strikes, suddenly hope for something outside of themselves to be able to come and change the foreseen outcome. However, as I thought about it, I began to think through the way those who call themselves Christians also live their life. How often do we go about things in life without really giving God or what He would have us do a second thought? I know for me personally, there are countless “little” decisions I make on a daily basis that feel so insignificant, I don’t think twice about praying about them or seeking God’s wisdom in regards to whether it is the wisest use of my time. Often, only when something bad has or might happen or a big decision is at stake will the thought of God come to mind. How is this any better than the godless culture we live in that denies God’s existence in the way they live until they need something from a higher power? 

I recently heard a sermon based on 1 Peter 2 where it talks about Jesus being the Chief Cornerstone and how He was rejected by the religious leaders of His day. The pastor made the point that for us in the 21st century, with the entirety of scripture before us, it is easy to point a finger at their arrogant ignorance and think we would never have made the same mistake. But, don’t we to some degree? How many times do we choose to do what we want instead of heeding the Spirit or biblical instruction? Every time we choose our way instead of God’s, we are rejecting the grace, promise, and freedom that He offers. We've compartmentalized life in many ways. There are bigger things that we seek the Lord’s grace and guidance for and then there’s the stuff that we can handle on our own because it's not a big deal. Maybe this isn’t a trap you’ve fallen into and if so, praise the Lord. But for me personally, it is a common mistake. 

Right about the time of Hamlin’s tragic collapse, I was wrestling with ideas surrounding purpose, identity, and God’s will. I was also fresh off a graduate theology course, as I worked towards my master’s degree, where I had spent significant time dealing with the idea of the sovereignty of God and how that translated into the way I viewed God and His plan for my life. Did I really believe God was actively working in my life and I still needed His presence, grace, and strength even on my best days? Or, was I just trying to fit God in when things got hard, confusing, or overwhelming? We are no better than anyone when God becomes an afterthought in our well ordered or designed life that we think can control. He has to be preeminent in every aspect of our lives. Thankfully, paramedics were able to revive Hamlin and now years later, he once again is playing in the NFL. I hope this experience led him to the Lord and a understanding of the reality that God must be the focal point of his life. Additionally, I hope situations like this only draw us closer to constant communication with the Lord, rather than an time we play lip service to a God we don't fully trust or rely upon for our every moment.