“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and He will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if He does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” — Daniel 3: 17-18
Even If
Vince Lombardi, the legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers, is credited with saying, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” While he wasn’t the first one to speak those words, the quote has become part of his legacy.
But what happens when a team doesn’t win? Competitive environments like sports require a loser by definition. No athlete or coach goes undefeated their entire career. Defeat is a part of sports that anyone involved in them has to deal with.
In life, everyone experiences highs and lows; no one is immune from difficult circumstances. When Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were about to be thrown into the furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar, they had faith God would rescue them. However, the next part of what they said is arguably more important. Even if God did not save them, they made it clear they would continue to worship Him and Him alone. Regardless of the outcome, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had their hearts set on honoring and following God.
There are times in life when we want God to intercede in a specific way. Maybe it’s a new job, the rekindling of a friendship, the healing of a loved one, or a whole host of other things. What happens when God answers our prayer differently than we hoped? Faith means trusting in and worshiping God even if our challenging circumstances don’t go away.
Whenever I think about this, lyrics from MercyMe’s song “Even If” pop into my head:
“I know the sorrow, and I know the hurt
Would all go away if You’d just say the word
But even if You don’t
My hope is You alone.”
— Joshua Doering
If you would like to submit a reader devotional, please email all submissions to jason@sportsspectrum.com.
Jack Sock is tended to by medical personnel after collapsing on the court during the U.S. Open, Sept. 3, 2015. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
“Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’” — John 4:13-14
The U.S. Open is played annually in New York, with Labor Day weekend right in the middle of the tournament, and the heat is often brutal. In 2015, it was 93 degrees with high humidity. Jack Sock was leading a second-round match two sets to one, but suddenly collapsed due to heat exhaustion and severe muscle cramps. Trainers covered him with bags of ice and carried him off the court. Regretfully, he had to withdraw from the tournament.
Any of us can suffer some symptoms when we don’t take in enough liquids in a timely manner. Our skin loses moisture, our mind doesn’t work as well, and we may have labored breathing. Our bodies need plenty of water to function properly, so experts urge us to stay hydrated. Water is a necessity for life, and without it we will struggle.
The same is true spiritually.
Sometimes God may allow us to get to a place where we must look up for provisions so He can teach us to trust Him and call on Him regularly for guidance and strength. The Israelites experienced this in a physical sense after God delivered them from slavery in Egypt. They came to a barren wilderness and were complaining of their deep thirst, so He provided water supernaturally through a rock (Exodus 17).
Not only did God come to their aid physically by the provision of water, but He revealed to them His character as Jehovah Jireh — their Provider of all things, physically and spiritually. They were shown, yet again, that they could trust God’s faithfulness to take care of them.
Sometimes the greatest provision God gives is not what we think we need, but Himself. In the New Testament, we see a woman who came to the community well to get provisions for herself and her household. But she instead learned of the spiritual need of Living Water, not just the physical need.
Jesus met her there and explained the critical need of spiritual water for our souls — for daily life and for eternity. She was initially focused on her being a Samaritan and Jesus being Jewish, so was skeptical because Jews didn’t associate with Samaritans. But Jesus turned her attention toward what all humans need: the spiritual life-giving water of Christ to refresh our thirsty souls (John 4:13-14, above). And it changed not only her life, but the lives of those who heard her testimony.
This same invitation given to the woman at the well also applies to us if we humbly and sincerely receive Christ’s words spoken long ago. The Lord reaches down in mercy and gives us all eternal life if we believe in Him as Lord and Savior of our lives.
— Bill Kent, Pastor of Memorial Baptist Church, Sylvania, Georgia
Justin Buzzard saw a video of a man in his 60s playing football and sent it to his sons as a way to encourage them as athletes. The juxtaposition of an older man on a field with a bunch of guys in their prime served as an example to never give up and know it’s never too late to do something.
His oldest son wrote back and suggested he — Dad — could do what that man in the video was doing.
“I just thought, ‘That’s so stupid. So no way,’” Buzzard told Sports Spectrum this week. “But within 30 seconds, I’m like, ‘Wait. Maybe. What if I did that? Maybe I could do that. What if I tried?’
“And my heart was just kind of leaping in me.”
Buzzard is 47 years old, soon to be 48. He’s the founder and lead pastor of Garden City Church in San Jose, California. He’s a husband, a dad and an author. He’s also now a defensive end for the San Jose City College football team. It’s a reality that even he’s still trying to wrap his head around as it quickly becomes one of the most talked-about stories early on in the 2026 college football season.
Initially, still not fully convinced of his own conviction, he jokingly messaged the team’s defensive coordinator with a link to the 60-year-old’s video and suggested he — in his mid-40s — should play for SJCC. Buzzard expected a humorous reply, but instead the coach wanted to talk. For real.
“And so two days later, I was meeting with them at the school, he was showing me around, and basically said we would hold you to the standards of every other person, and if you really want to come out here, we’ll give you an opportunity,” Buzzard said. “And so I took two weeks to think about it and to pray about it and decided to go for it.”
He talked with his wife, family and friends and made a list of pros and cons. Aside from balancing his work and life with playing a college sport, the most glaring concern was injury. He started his bachelor’s degree at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington, and redshirted on the football team for one season before a finger injury cut short his initial foray into college football. And even though he trains regularly now and does CrossFit, his body at 47 isn’t quite the same as it was at 18 or 19.
But aside from injuries, everything else pointed Buzzard toward saying yes. Videos of him getting action in last week’s game have now been posted all over social media. He’s been on SportsCenter, and the New York Times is writing a story about him. In the last couple of weeks, he’s received about three-to-five media requests every day.
He wasn’t expecting this kind of media blitz, and the attention isn’t why he said yes in the first place. But his journey has become an inspiration to many and it’s given him a platform to talk about Jesus, though he insists that his main goal was just to play football and see if he could do it. He didn’t want to force his way into a locker room just to be some sort of missionary.
“Jesus calls us to be in the world, but not of the world,” Buzzard told Sports Spectrum. “That’s very much how I’m looking at this. I’m in the field, in the locker room. I’m not going around telling people I’m a pastor. People found that out over time. I’m not just walking around preaching the Gospel. I’m walking around very much just being myself and trusting that guys are seeing, ‘There’s something unique about this guy. God’s at work in his life.'”
Like any other player, he had to earn his spot on the roster during training camp. And as the defensive coordinator told him, he wouldn’t get any passes just because he’s older and has a full-time job. Buzzard wouldn’t have it any other way.
Still, it’s a grind to get through each week, he said. Practice is hard, especially on Tuesdays and Wednesdays when players are in full pads and practice at full intensity. He’s also taking a full class load, as is necessary to be eligible. It’s a mental and physical battle to balance studying game film and preparing for games while still pastoring his church, writing his sermons, providing counseling, and being a dad and husband at home.
He’s exhausted and sore at the end of each day, but he’s chosen to embrace that this is just a season that will only last for a few months. Practice is at the same time each day Monday through Friday, which helps him create a schedule, and he can adjust accordingly. He’s also an author, with his next book, “Be A Man: The 21 Marks of Biblical Masculinity,” set to release in fall 2027.
His church staff and elders are helping him get through each week logistically, and the football team is off on Sundays, so that doesn’t interfere with his preaching schedule.
“The main thing is I just have to be disciplined,” Buzzard said. “Whatever I’m doing, I’m doing that. So if I’m in football, it’s all football. If I’m writing my sermon, it’s all sermon. I’m giving my full focus to whatever I’m doing and there isn’t extra margin. There isn’t time to fool around.”
He wasn’t expecting this either, but before the first scrimmage and again before the first game, head coach Jim Winkler asked him to pray for the team. Buzzard thinks that will become a regular thing going forward.
“Certainly my hope is that I would have an eternal impact here,” he said. “I hope to have an impact on the team right now in terms of our play and what we actually do on the field. I want to help my team win through my presence on and off the field, but I hope I have an eternal impact on the guys.”
This whole experience has opened the door to plenty of questions and conversations from players and the general public, and he’s receptive to all of it. His motto is “risk or rust,” which basically means if you don’t take risks or challenge yourself, you’ll get complacent. He hopes his story inspires his teammates and others in that way, and the hundreds of private messages he’s received over the last few weeks would suggest that mantra has resonated with a lot of people.
“I hope men are inspired to take a risk, to do something new, to not stand on the sidelines, to not stay stagnant, but to step out in faith and trust God for something new and to take on a new challenge or opportunity,” he said.
As of now, his plan only includes this season. He hopes to get through each practice and each game in one piece. Whether he plays again next season isn’t yet on his mind.
Buzzard sees all the encouraging and sarcastic comments online, and he loves it all. He knows full well there’s a chance he gets hurt or embarrasses himself on the field. And if a poor play gets caught on camera, there’s a high likelihood that a video of a 47-year-old making a fool of himself on a football field could go viral and those sarcastic comments would only intensify. But for him, it’s all worth the risk.
“That’s the risk of vulnerability in all of this,” he said. “Who knows what’s going to happen this week with game No. 2? Who knows what’s going to happen the rest of the season? I think that’s what makes this story, and especially sports, interesting, is that there’s so many different variables, and you never know what is going to happen.
“I hope people get that God wants to use you in the places of your deepest desire or excitement.”
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST HOSTED BY MATT FORTE, FEATURING EMEKA EGBUKA
Emeka Egbuka is a wide receiver with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, selected in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft after a stellar college career that saw him lead Ohio State to a national championship in 2024. In his first season with Tampa in 2025, Egbuka had team-leading 63 receptions, 938 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
Today on the podcast, Emeka Egbuka returns to the show to talk with Matt Forte about his recent marriage, draft day memories from 2025, adjusting to life in the NFL, staying strong in his faith, and having Baker Mayfield as a teammate.
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza celebrates with offensive lineman Jackson Lloyd during the Rose Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal game, Jan. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.” — Ephesians 5:15-17 (NLT)
During Indiana University’s improbable run to the college football national championship earlier this year, one of the things that was noted about quarterback Fernando Mendoza was his intentionality. Unlike many of his younger generation, Mendoza lives his life extremely deliberately — he is passionate about his faith, he doesn’t have social media, and he treats others with a level of genuine interest that is surprising.
During one of Indiana’s playoff games, a commentator was mentioning how unusual it is that someone of his caliber would grace the college sports scene, and he went on to speak about Mendoza’s thought process when transferring from UC Berkeley to Indiana. Once he knew his transfer was going through, he began studying not only the playbook but also the names of all of his soon-to-be teammates so that, upon arrival, he could address them all individually by name. He also applied the same mentality when he went to the Heisman Trophy presentation, learning the names of all the past winners so he could recognize them personally when he interacted with them.
Obviously, Mendoza has chosen to live his life on purpose. He has put intention and deliberate action behind all that he does because he wants to leave an impact that is bigger than just the Xs and Os of football. He wants to touch lives, and he knows that in order to go that extra distance and create that impact, he needs to build a life that allows for and is reflective of that.
But let me bring this home for you: Are you living on purpose? Are you building a life that is intentional?
You were created with the sole aim of reflecting the image of God. That is your ultimate purpose. And when we look at the life of Jesus, one of the things we notice right away was His intentionality. Of course, Jesus knew everything about everyone because He is the Son of God, but there was a deliberate and purposeful way in which He went about seeing and interacting with others that showed the heart of His Father.
As sons and daughters of the same Father, it’s becoming of us that we do the same. I heard a Messianic Jewish rabbi say a while ago that, because so much of Jesus’s life would’ve been on foot, most of His work would’ve occurred at about 3 miles per hour. And how much of our life is lived at a pace way faster than that, leaving us little time or room to create that sort of purposefulness that He lived with while He was on earth?
So much of the time we’re racing around trying to save time when, in reality, we’re losing out on the most important things because we’ve lost touch with what it means to live as reflectors of the intentional heart of God.
When we pause and listen to someone, when we go out of our way to make them feel noticed and heard and loved, when we look for ways to be all-present and give our undivided attention to other image-bearers of God, we bring a little bit of the Heavenly Kingdom down to earth. Will it take some sacrifice in other areas to make the time or have the energy to live this way? Totally. But will it also be eternally worth it? Every single time.
