Rams punter Johnny Hekker throws a pass in the NFC Championship Game, Jan. 20, 2019. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
“In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have.” — 1 Peter 3:15
Share Your Hope
Just 72 hours after the Los Angeles Rams punched their ticket to Atlanta, the stages were built and the cameras were ready to roll in Thousand Oaks, Calif. All eyes were on the L.A. superstars ready to win Super Bowl LIII.
As I walked the hundred yards from the Rams practice facility to the CBS Sports set that housed the Lombardi Trophy, I overheard a conversation that stopped me right in my tracks. At the corner of the field, four-time Pro Bowl punter Johnny Hekker was overflowing with praise for Jesus and the truth about our God. I can’t repeat verbatim what he said, but it was a beautiful mixture of Scripture and joy for his Savior. His eyes were wide as he passionately, yet calmly spoke about the light and love in his life.
Hekker was sharing his hope. Are you sharing yours?
As you go about the day, are you acknowledging how God is working in your life and providing your daily bread? Are your conversations abundant with gratitude for what Jesus did for you last year, yesterday and this morning?
Sharing your hope doesn’t have to look like a Gospel presentation. Sharing your hope is a natural, overwhelming desire to shout from the mountaintops (or whisper to the next cubical) how God is moving in your life!
Too often our outlook is weighed down by distress and our worries strip Jesus of the glory and honor and praise He deserves. Proclaim the prayers that have been answered and the healing you have witnessed! Ask God for boldness, so that when others ask about your confidence in Christ, you will be ready to share your hope.
— Krystal Nungaray
If you would like to submit a reader devotional, please email all submissions to jason@sportsspectrum.com.
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett during a game, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Samantha Chow)
“The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.” — John 3:29-30
Jacoby Brissett grew up in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he was a superstar in football and basketball before he even got to high school. When he finished high school, he was a four-star recruit to play quarterback and many college programs wanted him to come to their school. He decided to go to the University of Florida, but eventually transferred to North Carolina State University, where he became a starter and did well enough to be drafted into the NFL by the New England Patriots in 2016.
Over his 10-year career, Brissett has played for the Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, Washington Commanders, and he’s now with the Arizona Cardinals. The games he’s started have mainly been due to the starter being injured, and once the franchise quarterback recovers, Brissett usually heads back to the bench. It would’ve been easy for him to retire at a young age with plenty of money, but he is considered one of the best backup quarterbacks in the league.
Recently, Kyler Murray, the Cardinals’ starting quarterback, injured his foot and Brissett was pressed into duty. Since Murray’s torn tendon is not healing as quickly as expected and Brissett is playing so well, Brissett suddenly and unexpectedly became the starter for the foreseeable future (and now Murray’s future in Arizona is in doubt). Therefore, Brissett may get more of a chance to lead his team after patiently working in the background for a number of years. In a world where selfishness is increasing and we don’t see as many people with a servant’s heart, Brissett is an inspiration.
Before John the Baptist was born, God planned for him to work behind the scenes in a lesser role in order to put Christ in the spotlight. Throughout John’s life, he worked hard without a lot of people noticing him, but his role as a bridge from the Old Testament to the New Testament is one of the most important tasks completed by anyone in all of history. For example, Peter, Andrew, James and John wouldn’t have known who Jesus was if John didn’t introduce them to Him. Then they trusted Jesus and followed Him based upon John the Baptist’s strong character and many days of laboring without applause for God’s team.
If John was selfish, he could have been angry when his disciples stopped working under him and followed Jesus. However, John the Baptist celebrated like the best man at a wedding for the groom who’d get a lot more attention. “The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:29-30).
John knew he had an important role in the Kingdom of God, one uniquely set out for him. And each of us has our own important role too, whether in the spotlight or behind the scenes. It all matters to the Kingdom. God can use your anonymous seasons for great things when you trust Him to guide you on the path He’s set out for you.
— Bill Kent, Pastor of Memorial Baptist Church, Sylvania, Georgia
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST WITH MATT FORTE, FEATURING MOHAMED MASSAQUOI
Mohamed Massaquoi is a former NFL wide receiver who played five seasons with the Cleveland Browns, New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars. He was selected in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft by Cleveland after a stellar career in college with Georgia, where he was a first-team All-SEC selection in 2008.
Today on the podcast, Matt Forte talks to Mohamed Massaquoi about his college choice of Georgia, lessons learned from playing with the Browns, his draft day experience, transitioning out of the NFL, the accident that caused him to have four fingers amputated, and how God has remained constant in his life through the highs and lows.
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” — Galatians 4:4-5 (ESV)
We mostly see athletes when they’re in action on the field or on the court, but what we don’t see as much is that they spend a significant amount of their careers waiting. Waiting for the season to start. Waiting for rehab to finish. Waiting for the scout to notice. Waiting for the call-up, the callback or a comeback from an injury.
Waiting is one of the most unglamorous parts of sports, but also one of the most essential. Strength is built in the offseason. Trust is formed in the huddle. Championships are often won in the moments when no one is watching.
And every December, the world enters another kind of waiting: Advent — the season when we remember Israel waiting for a Savior, and we renew our own longing for Jesus to come again.
In Luke 2, we meet two people who embody faithful waiting: Simeon and Anna. Simeon was “righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel” (v. 25). Anna had been worshiping, fasting and praying in the temple for decades (vv. 36-37). Neither knew the exact timing, neither knew how God would fulfill His promise, but both stayed faithful in the waiting — and both saw Jesus.
Athletes know this truth: What you do while you wait shapes who you become when the moment arrives.
At Christmas, we remember that Jesus came not when people demanded it, but in “the fullness of time” (Galatians 4:4-5, ESV). God waited until the time was right to send Jesus. And we remember that God still works that way — not on our timetable, but His.
Maybe you’re in a season of waiting right now. Waiting to get healthy. Waiting for clarity about your future. Waiting for a roster spot. Waiting for God to open a door. Waiting for a prayer to be answered.
Christmas reminds us that we don’t wait alone, and we don’t wait in vain. The God who took on flesh is still Emmanuel, God with us, even in the waiting room.
Like athletes training in the dark for a season they can’t yet see, we wait with hope. We stay faithful. We keep showing up. Because the same God who fulfilled His promise by sending Jesus is the same God working in your life today.
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia. (AP Photo/Wade Payne, File)
Diego Pavia has always believed in himself, even when others might not have. All he needed was a chance — a theme that would resurface again and again on his way to stardom at Vanderbilt, and eventually, to discovering a faith that reshaped his entire life.
That journey began long before SEC stadiums or Heisman Trophy chatter. It started at junior college, where football was present but clarity wasn’t. Pavia carried big dreams, but also big questions.
“I went to JUCO. I had questions about God. It was like God wasn’t really in my life, and it was like, where am I?” he said this week on “The Pivot Podcast” with Ryan Clark. “I met these two dudes — Dalton Bowles and Carson Sullivan. One’s a preacher right now and one’s a coach. These dudes led me to Christ. The first time I ever prayed, really, on my hands and knees, tears were dropping from my eyes. I got up and it was just tears of joy — coming to the Lord and Savior. Ever since then, it was like, this is what I needed. It was a relationship with God.”
And as he moved on to New Mexico State in 2022, God kept placing people in his path. At NMSU, Pavia crossed paths with tight end Eli Stowers, whose faith wasn’t loud or performative, but steady and unmistakable. Stowers’ conviction and example through how he lived his life made an imprint on Pavia, so much so that Pavia believes they weren’t teammates by accident — both at New Mexico State and eventually at Vanderbilt.
“It was just like, Christ is real, and this is the reason why I am here right now,” Pavia said on the podcast.
But his belief in God didn’t mean his football path suddenly smoothed out. His road to the SEC was anything but easy. When he entered the transfer portal, interest was minimal.
“When I hit the transfer portal, no one wanted me,” he said. “My biggest offer was Washington State. No disrespect to Washington State, I thought I was better than that.”
He committed to Nevada at first, unsure he could complete the 21 credits Vanderbilt required for admission. But everything changed when Pavia received a phone call from Jerry Kill, his head coach at New Mexico State who had recently retired. Turns out, Kill wasn’t totally done in football yet. He told Pavia he was joining Vanderbilt’s staff as a chief consultant, and he didn’t mince words.
“You’re coming with me,” Kill told him.
That was all Pavia needed.
“I’m a loyal dude,” he said. “I feel like you took a chance on me coming from JUCO to New Mexico State, with this opportunity in the SEC, I’m going to take it.”
The chance he had long been waiting for had finally arrived — and he made the most of it.
He broke onto the scene last season, leading Vanderbilt to a 7-6 season and a win in the Birmingham Bowl. But this fall, Pavia became one of the most dynamic players in college football. He led Vanderbilt to a 10–2 record, claimed the 2025 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award last week, and was named SEC Offensive Player of the Year on Wednesday, two days after he was named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, which will be revealed at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Pavia amassed 4,018 yards of total offense with 36 total touchdowns while leading the SEC in pass efficiency (171.5), touchdown passes (27) and completion percentage (71.2%). He ranks second nationally in total offense (334.8 yards per game) and became the first Vanderbilt player ever to top 300 passing yards and 100 rushing yards in a single game (Nov. 8).
Yet for all the production, the statistics only reinforce the belief he’s carried his whole life.
“I was like, ‘I can win wherever I go. I just need a chance. I just need an opportunity,'” he said on “The Pivot.” “The NFL as well — just give me a chance. I just want an opportunity and I can show you that I’m going to play. That’s just who I feel I am deep inside. I’m a true competitor who, at all costs, I’m going to beat you out. It doesn’t matter who you are, what you do, where you came from, I’m going to win. That’s how I grew up being.”
His confidence and authenticity have never wavered — not when he was overlooked in recruiting, not when schools passed on him in the portal, and not even when he stumbled publicly. After Vanderbilt stunned No. 1 Alabama last year, fans stormed the field and emotions exploded. Pavia, overwhelmed by the moment, praised God on live TV.
“It’s literally all God’s timing,” he said on SEC Network. “Literally from the jump. God gave me a vision when I was a little kid, and He don’t let back any promises. It’s God’s timeline. I’m super thankful.”
By the next morning, he knew he hadn’t represented himself or his faith the way he wanted to. His apology came quickly and publicly:
“I’m sorry for cussing last night but, God you are the TRUTH AND ALL THE GLORY GOES TO YOU!! For yall that don’t know him, get to know him. HE IS MAGICAL!!”
Now, after finishing the 2025 season 10-2 and just outside of the College Football Playoff field, Pavia and the No. 14 Commodores will face No. 23 Iowa in the Reliaquest Bowl at 12 p.m. ET on Dec. 31.
