“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” — Joshua 1:9
Jesus Will Bring You Through
Momentum had shifted back toward the Eagles in the final three minutes of the NFC divisional game. As soon as Saints kicker Wil Lutz missed the field goal wide right, you could feel everyone at the Superdome hold their breath.
Philadelphia QB Nick Foles, last year’s Super Bowl MVP, calmly took the field and the Eagles had five plays left in the 2018-19 season. No one remembers that Foles had two incompletions, or that Darren Sproles ran for no gain. No one remembers that the Eagles had failed to put up points since the first quarter. Naturally, everyone remembers the pass that slipped through Alshon Jeffery’s grasp and into the hands of Saints defensive back Marshon Lattimore.
If you paid attention, you saw Foles consoling Jeffery on the sideline. I’d venture to guess he wasn’t saying, “Don’t worry about it.” I bet he was encouraging him, reminding him that he is not defined by dropping a catch, but that he is their brother. Win or lose, they do it together.
We know Foles is a man of faith, and I bet you all week God affirmed in him that he was ready for this game. This isn’t the outcome Foles prayed for, but he answered the call when God told him to step up. Foles was strong and courageous and carried the burden of his teammate. Foles did what Jesus would have done.
Jesus tells us that we will have troubles in this world; it’s a guarantee. When the trials come, I want to face my discomfort and fight through my pain.
Meditate on this command from the Lord. He is telling us to take heart and be ready! When the game is over, are you going to sulk on the bench or hold steadfast to the promise that Jesus will bring you through this obstacle?
He is with us wherever we go.
— Krystal Nungaray
If you would like to submit a reader devotional, please email all submissions to jason@sportsspectrum.com.
Tennessee running back DeSean Bishop, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Tennessee running back DeSean Bishop was at SEC Media Days in Tampa, Florida, this week to answer questions about the upcoming season, and he did plenty of that. The 2025 second-team All-SEC selection is expected to be a major contributor for a Volunteers team looking to get back to the College Football Playoff after missing it last season.
But that didn’t stop him from using the opportunity to talk openly about his faith in Christ as well.
“First and foremost, before we begin, I want to give all glory to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,” Bishop said Monday in his opening statement during his press conference. “I can pretend like this day is about me, but it’s really about Him. Ultimately, I would not be up here without Him, and He’s been the difference in my life. I encourage anyone out there, if you’re seeking a relationship with Him, go get it, because it does make the difference in everything you do. So all glory to Him.”
Bishop ran for 1,076 yards with 16 touchdowns last season, which were good for fourth and second in the conference, respectively. Tennessee finished 8-5 and lost 30-28 to Illinois in the Music City Bowl, where he ran for 96 yards and two touchdowns.
In Monday’s press conference, a reporter later asked what led to his success last season, and once again he turned to his faith.
“First of all, my Lord and Savior, obviously, giving me the ability to do what I do and just giving me the work ethic that I have,” Bishop said. “I came up from a lot of tribs and trials just to get to the spot I am now. So I’ve got to give the glory to Him.
“And also my offensive line. I tell this all the time, ‘I’m only as good as them.’ So those dudes pave the way for me and we are returning a bunch of stars this year and a lot of the dudes from the transfer portal. I believe that will be a big contributor to my success as well.”
Later, Bishop did a one-on-one interview with SEC Network, and was asked about the importance of his faith.
“I wouldn’t be here without it,” he said. “My Lord and Savior has treated me very good — more than I honestly deserve. I don’t really deserve to be in front of y’all, but by His grace and salvation He saved me from a really dark place, a path of destruction that I was on. It was leading me down to a place I don’t need to be.
“When God swooped in and saved my life, it came with all this that I’ve received now, so all glory to Him. If you are out there and don’t know much about Him, I encourage you to at least try to find a relationship with Him because it will change your life for the better.”
Don’t be fooled by Bishop’s calm and humble demeanor, though. When he gets the ball, his goal is “to punish people.”
“I have the mindset of not getting tackled and just fighting for as much yards as I can every time I touch the ball, just utilizing every carry I get because it could be limited,” he said in his press conference.
Bishop has relied on that approach ever since he starred at Karns High School in Knoxville, Tennessee. And he’s also carried a bit of a chip on his shoulder since then. Despite rushing for 8,347 yards and 102 touchdowns over the course of his high school career — which ranked second and third all-time in Tennessee high school football history, respectively — his only scholarship offers were from Coastal Carolina and Appalachian State. Tennessee came in at the last minute offering a walk-on spot. Despite being “really irritated” at the time that it was just a walk-on offer, he took the offer and bet on himself.
After redshirting his freshman year, he served as a backup the following season, and tallied 455 yards on the ground and three touchdowns. He topped 1,000 yards for the first time in his college career last season and has his sights set on even bigger numbers this year as he enters his redshirt junior season. He’s also getting NFL Draft buzz. The Athletic ranked him No. 8 in its list of top 15 draft-eligible underclassmen.
Having to earn his scholarship the way he did has made him into the player he is now and he chalks it all up to “God’s plan.”
“All glory to God, man,” Bishop said during his press conference. “It’s truly remarkable. Not many people would think of a walk-on from Karns would probably ever reach 1,000 yards. I came into a class where if anybody thought [someone] was supposed to transfer, man, it was probably supposed to be me.
“And just all the hard work has paid off. And it feels like I haven’t even scratched the surface, honestly, of what I’m capable of. So I’m just continuing to just praise Him. Obviously He’s telling me to get back to work because there’s a lot of work to be done this season.”
Bishop wasn’t picked for any preseason SEC awards, likely because he’s in a conference with two of the best running backs in the country — Kewan Lacy of Ole Miss and Ahmad Hardy of Missouri, who were chosen ahead of him. Lacy ranks No. 1 and Hardy is No. 3 on The Athletic’s list of draft-eligible underclassmen.
Bishop’s pro future will work itself out in due time, but for now, he’s focused on making an impact in his locker room and community. This past weekend, he hosted a football camp at Karns, where faith once again took center stage. Campers wore shirts that read, “A little bit of faith. And a little bit of hard work.”
“A lot of people out here are big believers in the Lord, and I believe that’s what you’ve got to have in your life,” Bishop told the Knoxville News Sentinel. “You’ve got to be grounded in your faith. There’s a lot of things you look for to try to satisfy you in this life, but only one thing can, and that’s your Lord and Savior.”
Tennessee opens the 2026 season Sept. 5 at home against Furman.
Nishesh Basavareddy of the U.S. at the Australian Open tennis championship, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 3:13-14
One of my favorite aspects of playing tennis is that it’s a mental battle as much as it is a physical challenge.
Technique, strategy, conditioning and raw skill all matter a ton. But once the match begins, it’s often won or lost between the ears — especially at the amateur level. Even for professionals, mistakes are unavoidable, but at the recreation level, the majority of points are won and lost because one player misses a shot.
What often separates players is the ability to accept that and move on. In my years of playing and coaching, I’ve seen players who did this really well and others who allowed their mistakes to compound and completely derail their entire match. Even if you lose a point or two, you are not that far from being back in a game to win it. You have to be ready to reset mentally and play the next point.
If you carry that mistake to the next point, the match can slip away from you quickly as you start to overthink or overcorrect for something that happened several points or games ago. The refusal to let go of or learn from your mistakes can ultimately be your downfall.
The Christian walk can feel similar at times. We replay the conversation we wish we could take back or the sin struggle we thought we would’ve beaten by now. We fixate on the opportunity we missed, the season of life we think we mishandled, or the rejection we still carry.
As fallible humans, we fixate on our mistakes and think God does the same. But that’s not the truth we see in Scripture. Philippians 3:13-14 says this: “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
In another example, after denying Jesus three times, Peter had every reason to believe his failure defined him. Yet Jesus met him with restoration rather than condemnation. On the shore of Galilee, Jesus didn’t force Peter to live forever in the shadow of his worst moment. Instead, He recommissioned him.
Grace doesn’t ignore our failures, but it does refuse to let them have the final word. In other words, the last point is over. We can play the next one.
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST HOSTED BY MATT FORTE, FEATURING RYAN KERRIGAN
Ryan Kerrigan played 11 seasons in the NFL with the Washington Redskins (2011-2020) and the Philadelphia Eagles (2021). He earned four Pro Bowl selections and is the Washington franchise leader in career sacks with 95.5.
Today on the podcast, Matt Forte talks to Ryan Kerrigan about their battles between Chicago and Washington, how Ryan has seen faith guide his life, what his 2011 NFL Draft day was like, how fatherhood and marriage have shaped him, and what it was like scoring a touchdown in his very first NFL game.
Athletes know what it’s like to perform under bright lights — packed arenas, cameras, pressure, expectations. But they can be surrounded by light and still live in darkness.
The world feels heavy right now — violence, division, deception. Remember: Darkness is the default. If no light gets in, darkness automatically dominates. Scripture says darkness is sin, ignorance and separation from God. The only way out of darkness is light — and the Light has a name: His name is Jesus!
Jesus isn’t a motivational speaker or religious accessory — He is God in the flesh. John 1:4 says, “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” Then Verse 5 seals it: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Nothing! Not your past. Not your habits. Not your pain. Not even the enemy can put out the light that Jesus brings in.
You can be successful but empty. Paid but paranoid. Celebrated but struggling. You can have the highlights, but still carry hidden darkness — anger, lust, pride, addiction, bitterness, fear. Jesus didn’t come to clown you; He came to save you. He came to bring you out from under the power of Satan and into the presence of God.
John 1 says if you receive Him and believe in His name, He gives you the right to become a child of God. Not a fan. Not a church member. Family. New heart. New direction.
So here’s the call to action: Step into the light today. Pray right now: “Jesus, I receive You. Forgive my sin. Break my darkness. Lead my life.”
