“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” — James 4:8 (ESV)
Finish The Race
When my brother first started dating my sister-in-law, he was an avid hockey fan — but she didn’t care at all about sports. Carolyn lived in the suburbs, and every time they went to a game, which was often, Don would drive out and pick her up, then take her home after the game — a total of more than 80 miles for the evening.
Don didn’t mind the drive because he wanted to be with Carolyn. Sometimes Carolyn would take knitting to the game with her — she didn’t care about the hockey game, but she wanted to be with Don.
Oh, that we would desire the company of Jesus to that extent! No matter what our circumstances — whether we are doing something we enjoy or whether it’s something less than pleasurable — we will be filled with contentment if our focus is on our fellowship with Him.
Father God, please help us to rest and be satisfied in spending time with You.
— Lois Thomson
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Asa was the king of Judah from 911-870 BC. He sought to do good and persevered against varied opposition for 41 years. The encouraging words from 2 Chronicles 15:7 (ESV) were spoken to Asa by the prophet Azariah: “But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.” It was a reminder to Asa and us that perseverance (“take courage”) requires work.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Will Vest’s story is a story of God’s grace, but also of Will’s determination and hard work. I’ve known Will since his days in Single-A baseball and have had a front-row seat to his perseverance.
“My baseball career has seen a ton of ups and downs; it hasn’t been a straight path by any means,” Will says. “I’ve never been the biggest, strongest or fastest, so even when I was younger, I got cut from a lot of teams. I wasn’t a highly touted draft prospect coming out of college, and even in the pros I got demoted every year from 2018 through 2023. I’ve had to work through a lot of failure.”
The work that he’s put in to become a major league pitcher has required effort, sacrifice, consistency and accountability. Of eternal consequence, I’ve seen Will pursue living out his Christian life with the same effort and perseverance.
The Bible is clear that we do not work for our salvation; it is a gift that cannot be earned (Ephesians 2:8-9). Once a person has received that gift of salvation, he or she is to be invested in living out that relationship with Jesus. But that does take some effort and perseverance.
The basic meaning of the word “perseverance” in the New Testament means to “stand up under.” Christians are to work at standing up under trials and standing for Jesus.
Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson celebrates one of his goals, April 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
It had been 15 long years since the Buffalo Sabres last made an appearance in the NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. That is, until Sunday.
The Sabres took down the Boston Bruins, 4-3, in their much-anticipated playoff return, and it took a spurt of four goals in less than seven minutes to do so during a wild third period.
The Sabres, champions of the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division, looked listless as they fell behind by two goals early in the third period. The energy inside Buffalo’s KeyBank Center, once celebratory, became marked with anxiety. It appeared as though Sabres fans would have to wait at least one more game for the team’s first playoff win in a decade and a half.
But then, the team’s best offensive weapon came alive.
Playing in his first career playoff game, longtime Sabre Tage Thompson scored two goals in quick succession to even the score. He wrapped his first around the Bruins’ goalie from behind the net.
TAGE THOMPSON SCORES BUFFALO'S FIRST GOAL OF THE #STANLEYCUP PLAYOFFS! 🦬
His second came less than four minutes later, when he stole the puck behind Boston’s goal, skated open in front of the net, and buried a shot just inside the far post.
TAGE THOMPSON'S GOT TWO GOALS AND TIED IT FOR THE SABRES! GET LOUD BUFFALO! 😆
Buffalo netted two more goals just minutes later to seize control of the game. Despite a successful Boston power play to trim the lead to one, the Sabres held on for the victory and a 1-0 series lead. Buffalo’s rally was just the second time in NHL history a team overcame a multi-goal deficit in the final eight minutes of a playoff game to win in regulation.
“Eight years of adversity is enough experience to get you ready for something like this,” Thompson said in his postgame press conference about his time with the organization. “I think any time you go eight years and not making playoffs, and then it’s finally here, the last thing you want is regret. There was just a heightened feeling of hunger. We just don’t want to let this opportunity slip. I thought tonight was really important to make a statement and set our standard.”
The 28-year-old has been a stalwart on the offensive end for the upstart Sabres all year. He played the most games (81) and recorded the second-most points of his career (a team-leading 81) this season. He scored 40 goals, the most on the team, and handed out 41 assists.
Thompson’s heroics for the Sabres in Game 1 only added to what has already been a very memorable 2026. In February, he scored three goals for Team USA during the Americans’ trek to capture their first Olympic gold medal since the “Miracle on Ice” in 1980.
And he’s proclaimed his faith in Christ throughout.
“Jesus is everything to me,” the 2023 NHL All-Star said days after winning gold. “Obviously, we’re made imperfect. We’re all sinners, and we need Him. And I fall short every single day, and He’s the One I rely on. I think when you have that sense of hope, the grace and the mercy that I receive every day from Him is something that gives me peace and joy in life, no matter what I do.
“And He’s blessed me with this game and this opportunity to play the game I love at a high level.”
Thompson spoke at length about his faith in Christ as a guest on the Sports Spectrum Podcast in July 2023, when he said he grew up hearing about God but only later came to an understanding of his need for a relationship with Him.
“I think when you take a step back,” he said, “and realize that God’s in control and He has a plan for you, and His plan is far better than anything we could ever imagine (Ephesians 3:20), you just kind of give it over to Him and sit back and enjoy the ride.”
Now with one postseason game — and one postseason victory — under his belt, Thompson knows the publicity of a deep playoff run would present him with an even better opportunity to point others to Jesus.
“Hockey influences my faith,” he told His Huddle in December 2020, “because I’m able to use the platform I’ve been given to try and be a light to others to show what it means to be a follower of Christ. And hopefully lead others to come to know Him.”
Thompson and the Sabres will face off against the Bruins in Game 2, set for Tuesday in Buffalo at 7:30 p.m. ET. They will seek to retain the home-ice advantage and take a commanding series lead.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Aroldis Chapman, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
“For God says, ‘At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.’ Indeed, the ‘right time’ is now. Today is the day of salvation.” — 2 Corinthians 6:2 (NLT)
Aroldis Chapman throws a fastball that’s consistently clocked at more than 103 mph for the Boston Red Sox. The ball goes from the pitcher’s mound to the plate so fast that most batters struggle to swing quickly enough to make contact. Many hitters strike out within three to five pitches when Chapman is on the mound.
In most cases, major league pitchers have to be able to throw a fastball at least 90 mph and also have the ability to throw off-speed pitches to keep the hitters off balance. Pitchers regularly work on their flexibility, strength and stamina to try to stay ahead of the hitters.
We admire the urgency of hard-throwing pitchers, fielders and hitters with quick hands, and speedy outfielders and base runners. But we tend to be the opposite when it comes to sharing the Gospel. If we want to please God, we need to increase our enthusiasm for bringing the Good News to others.
In the Scriptures, we’re often reminded about the urgency of getting the Gospel message from one person to another through personal encounters. Even though it’s helpful to share the truth through social media, texts, emails and phone calls, a deeper impression is made when we look somebody in the eye and speak specifically about our relationship with God.
The Bible says, “Indeed, the ‘right time’ is now. Today is the day of salvation,” (2 Corinthians 6:2b, NLT) to emphasize the importance of coming to Christ immediately if we haven’t already, because we don’t know how much time we’ll have to make that decision. Some people live to be 90 but others don’t make it to old age, so we must think about eternity right now.
As soon as Paul met Christ on the road to Damascus, his priorities changed. He no longer lived for himself and his agenda. From that day forward, he urged people to believe in Christ without waiting: “We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20b).
Christ and the apostles were motivated by their love for lost souls and also their understanding that every person has a deadline. The criminal on the cross may have known when he was dying and got right with God, but most of us don’t know when we will die. Since the apostles’ hearts overflowed with God’s love, they moved fast to get to people to speak about the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.
Even when Paul was a prisoner, he didn’t focus on escaping. Instead, he kept on telling others about Jesus just as he did when he walked freely. As Paul stood before the ruler Agrippa, he pleaded with him to consider the condition of his eternal soul. “Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?’ Paul replied, ‘Short time or long — I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains'” (Acts 26:28-29).
We need to feel an urgency to share what we know about Jesus, for eternities hang in the balance. You never know if you’ll see tomorrow, so make sure you are right with the Lord and share with those around you so that they may hear the best news of their lives.
— Bill Kent, Pastor of Memorial Baptist Church, Sylvania, Georgia
Ilia Malinin. He’s known to the world as the Quad God: the first male figure skater in history to master and land all six types of quadruple jumps, the first to ever land the elite quadruple axel jump in competition (4.5 revolutions in the air), and the first to ever land seven quad jumps in a single program. He holds many scoring world records and has elevated his sport to heights never seen. Many are already saying that, by the end of his career, he will go down as likely the greatest male figure skater of all time.
The 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics were supposed to be his crowning moment. Nobody had been able to beat him in more than two years. While he did walk away with a gold medal in the team competition, the individual event shockingly didn’t turn out that way. Literally moments away from hearing his national anthem, he had a disastrous skate in the men’s long program and finished in eighth place.
The world was surprised at how well Malinin handled the moments that followed, yet his relationship with failure was born long before the Olympics happened. He says there have been two guiding principles by which he has dealt with disappointment:
1. You don’t get better by never falling. In his disastrous free skate at the Olympics, Malinin had multiple falls — extremely uncharacteristic mistakes for a skater of his caliber. And yet, he was quick to point out that falls are part of the journey, especially in the sport of figure skating, and improvement doesn’t come by being scared of tumbling to the ice. Falling is part of the process, and you must accept that in order to improve.
Sometimes it’s easy to think that the Christian life is supposed to be this steady, upward climb. We’ve somehow put in this idea that we’re supposed to be perfect and never fall. But the Bible doesn’t promise us that. Rather, it promises that, even if we stumble, God will hold our hand and help us back up.
2. God’s sovereignty is what gives purpose to even our falls. In an interview shortly after his epic collapse, Malinin told NBC, “I always say that everything happens for a reason. God puts things there the way He wants it, and I’m always taking that for granted and knowing that there’s always something that has to be done.” This philosophy was on display in the exhibition gala that followed the end of figure skating competition as Malinin chose to skate to Christian singer NF’s song “Fear,” and the world was hushed in a special moment on the ice.
There’s a peace that comes from knowing that even our most disastrous mistakes and failures can and will be used by God for good. We can be confident in knowing that He’s in control of everything that happens. He knows ahead of time how things will turn out, and nothing will take place outside of His plan.
Our falls might not take place with a global audience watching as happened for Ilia Malinin. Most likely, they will happen when few are watching except for God. But no matter how or when they happen, the fact that God will catch you no matter what, and still use your stumbles for His glory and your good, can free you up to not be scared of failure, but to welcome it when it shows up.
