“Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.” — Deuteronomy 29:18
The Sports Cycle
We are nearing one of the several “perfect storms” of the sports seasons throughout every calendar year. NBA and NHL drama are about to spike with trade deadlines approaching, March Madness is just a few months away, and what many consider a national holiday in the Super Bowl just finished a few days ago.
And somehow, regardless of if it’s your personal favorite team that comes out on top in whatever championship draws closer, life will continue, and sooner than we think, a new team or player will be crowned. The celebration of waiting an entire year and seeing your hometown claim that certain title will then be overshadowed with ESPN’s “Way-Too-Early-Next-Season-Championship-Odds.”
The luster will be gone. Your job, family and everyday life responsibilities will need to be tended to, and your life will not practically change. And we just wait until the next season for the feeling to come back. And the cycle repeats.
Does Jesus want us to enjoy the relaxation that can come along with following sports? Well, He very evidently approves of taking time to rest our mind, body and soul (John 4:6, Mark 6:31). But he also does warn us of the worship of other gods that we can confuse for rest or pleasure, that ultimately will not fulfill us in the manner in which He is able to do.
The original Greek translation of “worship” is proskuneo, which means “to kiss the hand to (toward).” Jesus is eternal, and offers full life in every moment, whether in suffering or celebration.
What if our enjoyment of sports came from a heart of thankfulness that God has given us events to experience, and we don’t wrap our identity into the events? What if we could celebrate our favorite team, but not need to go into a week-long potato-chip eating depression when they lose? This is a Romans 12:2 type of calling, but one that proves to be worth it.
— Chris Pennington
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Every athlete eventually learns that one mistake can become two if you keep replaying it in your head.
A missed shot can follow you into the next possession. A dropped pass can make your hands tense on the next throw. A bad inning, a missed assignment or a poor decision can become bigger than the moment itself when frustration takes over.
That is why good coaches keep saying some version of the same thing: Play the next play.
The Christian life requires that same kind of discipline. We all have moments we wish we could take back. We say the wrong thing. We lose our patience. We make a choice we knew was unwise. Sometimes the mistake is small. Sometimes it hurts deeply. Either way, shame has a way of convincing us that the failure should become our identity.
Scripture tells a different story. Proverbs 24:16 (above) does not describe a righteous person as someone who never falls — it describes someone who gets back up. The difference is not perfection. The difference is where we turn after the fall.
Peter knew this. He promised Jesus loyalty and then denied Him three times. That failure could have defined the rest of his life. Instead, Jesus met Peter again, restored him and gave him work to do. Peter’s worst moment was real, but it was not the end of his story.
That matters for athletes, coaches, parents, leaders and anyone else carrying regret. God does not ask us to pretend the mistake never happened. He asks us to bring it honestly to Him, learn from it, receive His grace, and take the next faithful step.
There is a difference between conviction and condemnation. Conviction points us back toward God. Condemnation tells us to stay on the ground.
So when you miss, fail, stumble or disappoint yourself, do not surrender the rest of the game to one bad moment. Confess what needs to be confessed. Repair what can be repaired. Learn what needs to be learned. Then get up.
“The Lord said to him, ‘Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.’” — Exodus 4:11-12
Emma wasn’t the best player on her volleyball team. There were girls with better stats, more experience, more natural talent. Emma was a utility player — filled in wherever the team needed her, didn’t complain, just did her job. She wasn’t a star. She was just … there. But her coach saw more than that — she saw the person who could actually bring their fractured team together.
When the coach asked Emma to be the team captain, Emma actually laughed. “Coach, I barely play. Why would anyone listen to me?” The coach looked at her and said something Emma would never forget: “Because they trust you. You’re not trying to be the star. You’re trying to help the team. And that’s what we need right now.”
Emma had a choice. She could decline and stay comfortable in her role. Or she could accept an invitation she didn’t feel qualified for and trust that her coach saw something in her she couldn’t see yet. Emma chose to accept. And that decision changed everything — not just for her, but for the entire team.
This is how God works throughout Scripture. Moses had a speech impediment and a criminal record. David was the youngest son nobody took seriously. Gideon was hiding in a winepress when God called him a mighty warrior. Peter was impulsive and kept putting his foot in his mouth. Paul was persecuting Christians before Jesus got ahold of him.
None of these people were qualified by human standards, but God called them anyway. And then He did extraordinary things through them. Not because they were capable, but because He was.
That’s the pattern throughout the Bible: God calls ordinary people to extraordinary things. The only requirement is a willingness to trust the One who is enough.
Achieving the Triple Crown in Major League Baseball is a difficult feat. A player must have the highest batting average, the most home runs and the most RBIs. These achievements don’t happen very often.
There’s also a Triple Crown in horse racing. A horse must win the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes in the same year. Again, a difficult achievement as the horse must win three races in a row against the best horses at three different tracks and different distances. Some of the horses in the second and third race do not compete in all the races, so they’re an unknown factor in the final leg of the Triple Crown.
In drag racing, there’s no so-called “Triple Crown.” But when a race team runs low ET (elapsed time) and top speed of the meet, and then wins the race too, it’s like a Triple Crown — a racing trinity. For the sold-out fans of drag racing, their Triple Crown is going to the races, seeing their favorite driver win, and witnessing a world record at the same race.
Most importantly, there’s an eternal Triple Crown calling all of us to listen, learn and lean on the God-based Trinity consisting of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These three are the epitome of stardom from eternity past while visibly wearing the gold crowns forever. They’re the Champs of the universe!
Joy, peace and hope are a good Triple Crown for us humans. Faith allows us to have a Triple Crown as we have the joy of the Lord, the peace that surpasses all understanding, and the eternal hope that drives us to serve Almighty God all our years on earth.
The Book of Ephesians gives us another Triple Crown by reminding us who we were before coming to Christ (Ephesians 2:1-3), who we are now in Christ (Ephesians 2:4-6), and who we are to become — how to live in Christ considering our new life in Him (Ephesians 2:10, 4:24). We’re alive in Christ (got the new racing machine), saved by grace (made it to the racetrack), and raised up with Christ (racing down the track).
Tell me, friends, what depletes your joy? What threatens your peace? What diminishes your hope? Just remember that God’s imperishable Triple Crown is bestowed upon us through faith and trust by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton celebrates, Oct. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
In just the franchise’s second year of existence, the Golden State Valkyries captured the WNBA title on Saturday night in San Francisco after a hard-fought, back-and-forth 68-63 victory against the Atlanta Dream in Game 7. It was the first seven-game series in WNBA Finals history.
Valkyries point guard Veronica Burton left her mark on the game from beginning to end. She hit a step-back mid-range jumper just before the shot clock expired to open the scoring, and she buried two clutch free throws with 5.1 seconds remaining to extend Golden State’s lead to five. They would be the last points of the contest.
Burton finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and a block in the winner-take-all Game 7. She also led her team with 39 minutes played as her team overcame a six-point halftime deficit.
The 5-foot-9 point guard anchored Golden State throughout their 13-game postseason run. She led the team in assists per game (3.8), tied for second in rebounds (4.9), and was third in points (9.2).
“Hands down, I think she’s the best point guard right now in the league,” Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase told The Athletic last week. “… It’s that grittiness. It’s that leadership. It is that toughness. It’s diving on the floor, getting knocked down, getting back up.”
Burton is a leader and defensive stopper on her team, and in many ways the heart and soul of it. And now, she’s carried Golden State to a title. It’s a story no one would have thought possible just a few years ago, perhaps not even her.
Burton’s WNBA career began with promise, as the Massachusetts native was drafted No. 7 overall by the Dallas Wings in 2022 after a decorated college career at Northwestern. Yet after two seasons of limited playing time and limited success in Dallas, the Wings waived her in May 2024. She eventually signed with the Connecticut Sun for the remainder of the 2024 campaign, yet again didn’t see the floor much.
Burton’s breakthrough came when Golden State picked her from Connecticut’s roster in the December 2024 expansion draft and she instantly became a critical piece of the new team. She started all 44 games in 2025 and thrived in that role, averaging 11.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.1 steals in 29.4 minutes of game action. Golden State became the first WNBA expansion team to reach the playoffs in its first year, and Burton was named the league’s Most Improved Player. She was also named to the All-Defensive second team.
Burton was again named to the All-Defensive second team in 2026 and guided the Valkyries back to the playoffs as the No. 2 overall seed with a 32-12 regular-season record. She averaged 12.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.6 steals.
Throughout her rise to the top of the WNBA, Burton has consistently given glory to God, both on social media and in interviews. She was found reading the Book of James after being waived by Dallas, and in a 2023 appearance on the Sports Spectrum Podcast, she explained why it’s so important to her to thank God.
“The one thing that I try and thank Him for every day is just the opportunities that He’s presented for me,” she said. “I’ve been able to experience a lot of great things, and things have worked out in my favor, and a lot of that has to do with Him and the grace that He has for me.”
Although Burton grew up in a family that emphasized faith, it was at Northwestern that God truly began to work in her heart to draw her to Himself.
“I realized that the more I centered my life around faith and my relationship with the Lord, the more steady I found myself and the more at peace I found myself,” she said on the podcast. “That’s where I saw a shift in who I was and what I really prioritized.”
“My faith is the most important thing to me,” the 26-year-old said. “Just wrapping my identity around who Christ says I am rather than a sport, a career.”
In a video later in the series, Burton shared why her daily practice of doing devotionals and spending time in God’s Word is so important.
“I wanted to know Him for myself and I wanted to have a genuine relationship for myself,” she said, “because I believe that’s the best part about Christianity is having a relationship.”
Burton praised God amid the depths of doubt and uncertainty after she was waived two years ago. Now, at last, she can praise Him as a WNBA champion.
