Saints kicker John Carney, right, is congratulated by safety Steve Gleason in 2004. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
“Jeremiah said to the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: “When people fall down, don’t they get up again? When they discover they’re on the wrong road, don’t they return back?”‘” — Jeremiah 8:4
Beauty In Failure
Last year on the Sports Spectrum podcast I asked former NFL kicker John Carney what was the biggest lesson that he was learning from God at that moment. His answer was really great: “Courage to fail.”
In sports, failure is inevitable. It happens to everyone, even the all-time greats.
Michael Jordan once said, “I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game-winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
Whether it is with your marriage, your family, your job, or even your faith, we all make regretful decisions. We all fail. We all do dumb things.
And yet, there’s beauty in the failure. There’s something wonderful about doing your best, falling short and not giving up. There’s beauty in continuing to not give in, continuing to get back up, continuing to move forward.
Just because you fail does not mean you’re a failure. You are not a failure. You are loved. You are cherished. You are important. You are valuable.
So when you stumble, get back up. Keep fighting. Keep leaning on the only One whose love is never failing. And keep on keeping on.
Greater things have yet to come.
— Jason Romano, Sports Spectrum Podcast Host
If you would like to submit a reader devotional, please email all submissions to jason@sportsspectrum.com.
According to Ephesians 5:21 (ESV), a measure of the reality of my relationship with Jesus is how I submit to others with whom I am in relationship. The verse emphasizes “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Though the concept of submitting is often viewed negatively, the Bible presents it positively and as a mark of spiritual maturity when it is applied in healthy, honoring ways.
Submission, as depicted in the Bible, is when someone joyfully fulfills the responsibilities and privileges of his or her role in a relationship. Some of these relationships addressed in the Bible are: husbands and wives (Ephesians 5:22-33), leaders and members (Hebrews 13:7, 17), and employers and employees (Ephesians 6:5-9). The greatest example of submission is Jesus in relationship to God the Father (Philippians 2:1-11), and is to be applied to our relationships with one another.
The story is told of two people who meet on a narrow mountain path coming from opposite directions. They each stand in the way of the other. To one side of the trail is a sheer stone wall, and on the other side is a deadly vertical drop-off. The two travelers are at an impasse. Neither can move onto their desired destination.
How do they resolve it? Each traveler can turn around and return home, unfulfilled in his or her journey. Another option is for the bigger person to throw the smaller person over the cliff to clear the path. Or, one person can lay down (submit), allow the other person to step over, and then get up with both individuals moving on in their journeys.
Panthers QB Bryce Young, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Danny Karnik)
They needed overtime and heroics from quarterback Bryce Young to do it, but the Carolina Panthers overcame a 14-point first-half deficit Sunday to defeat the Falcons on the road in Atlanta, 30-27, sweeping the season series against their division rivals for the first time since 2013.
Widespread criticism surrounded Young last week following back-to-back poor performances, and the third-year QB responded with perhaps the best game of his NFL career thus far. Young completed 31 of his 45 pass attempts against Atlanta for a franchise-record (and career-high) 448 yards and three touchdowns without committing a turnover.
Carolina got on the board first with a touchdown on its opening drive, when Young found rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan through a tight window for a 7-yard score. But Atlanta responded with a vengeance, scoring three touchdowns on three consecutive possessions for a 21-7 lead. Then, Carolina flipped the script.
On the first drive of the third quarter, still trailing 21-10, Young lofted a deep pass that receiver Xavier Legette hauled in for a 36-yard TD.
After the teams traded field goals, Young led the Panthers on a nine-play, 65-yard drive that culminated in a 12-yard touchdown to McMillan with just more than a minute remaining. McMillan’s second score of the day gave Carolina the lead.
What makes his record-setting day even more impressive is that he was hobbled most of the game with a right ankle injury sustained in the first quarter. He has already missed a game this season due to an injury on that same ankle.
“Pain is an accurate way to sum it up,” Young said with a smile when asked what he was thinking after re-aggravating the injury. “… I want to be out there to play. I don’t take this game from granted. The Lord has blessed me to be here — to have this opportunity. Any time that I am able to go, I always want to do that.”
Young battled through to lead the Panthers to their fifth one-score win this season, with three (including Sunday) coming on walk-off field goals. Although the Panthers have only won 12 games with Young as the starter, 10 of them have come on game-winning drives, more than any other quarterback since Young entered the league as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
“Just faith. I believe in the Lord,” Young said in Sunday’s press conference when asked about the reputation he’s developing as one of the more clutch players in the NFL. “I know that everything’s already written, so I enjoy times like that to be able to go execute. I grew up — I’m sure most people did — in the backyard being able to say, ‘Oh, we have a two-minute drive to win the game. We’re able to go down and score with zero seconds left.’ I’m blessed enough to be able to do that in real life.”
Young calls himself a “Follower of Christ” in his Instagram bio and has spoken about his faith in Christ since his college days at Alabama. He was featured in the Fall 2022 edition of Sports Spectrum Magazine and on the Sports Spectrum Podcast that August.
“I’m based in faith,” Young said on the podcast. “I’m blessed to have the family that I do that introduced me [to faith] when I was young. Throughout my life, my relationship has grown with the Lord and my faith has improved. Through that, I work to be the best version of myself that I can be and to embody Christ in all that I do.”
The Pasadena, California, native captured the 2020 national championship (as a backup) and the 2021 Heisman Trophy while at Alabama. In the NFL, he’s been criticized at times for uneven play and praised at others for flashes of brilliance, especially after setting a franchise record for passing yards. Whether receiving criticism or praise, Young finds his deepest purpose in pleasing his Father in Heaven.
“Regardless of how someone else views me, whatever award, accolade, whatever someone may say — negative or positive — I appreciate and am grateful for the positive, and even for the negative,” he said on the podcast. “But at the end of the day, what motivates me and pushes me is to model myself after the Lord.”
The Panthers are sitting at 6-5, their best record through 11 games since 2018. Sunday’s win, paired with a Buccaneers loss, moved Carolina to just a half-game behind Tampa Bay for first place in the NFC South.
The Panthers will try to keep pace or overtake Tampa Bay in a crucial “Monday Night Football” showdown next week on the road against the San Francisco 49ers (7-4). Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. ET. Young and his injured right ankle will be monitored throughout the week.
In football, offensive and defensive coordinators work late hours developing strategy to either move the ball forward or stop the other team from moving the ball. Currently, the “run-pass option” (RPO) is a popular way to keep defenses guessing whether the quarterback will hand the ball to a running back or throw a pass to a receiver downfield. For decades, the best quarterbacks have faked a handoff and fooled the defense, or sometimes offensive coordinators call a reverse play where the defense thinks the play is going left but it goes to the right side instead.
In other words, defensive players have to be alert, think fast and be ready for anything. In a similar way, we need to be alert and prepared for Christ’s return at all times.
Throughout His ministry, Jesus predicted His death, burial and resurrection. But He also spoke about going back to Heaven after the resurrection and then returning at some point in the future. If we read the Bible carefully, we can gather some facts about the second coming of Jesus, but the Bible doesn’t tell us all the details. Some things about the return of Christ are still a mystery. Jesus didn’t give all of the details to the 12 disciples, and He doesn’t tell us everything either.
Jesus made it clear that no human being knows the timing of His return. When Jesus returned to Heaven, His disciples were sad but He used His certain return to give them hope. As Jesus ascended toward Heaven, two angels gave an encouraging message: “They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven'” (Acts 1:10-11).
As Christians, as we develop the proper attitude toward the end times, we should want to share our Christian faith with others with a sense of urgency. Furthermore, we’ll yearn for Christ’s return if we love the Lord as our Savior, God and Friend. After the apostle John saw all of the visions of the future, he exclaimed, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).
John also urged us to be careful how we live as we await Christ’s return. “And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming” (1 John 2:28).
In describing the end of time, Jesus said Noah warned the people of his generation to change their ways and believe in God before the flood waters came, but they didn’t listen. “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:37). We now have the opportunity to listen to God and draw near to the Lord.
Let’s remember how much Jesus loves us and follow Him with all of our hearts, loving people like Jesus does. Then Jesus will be smiling at us whenever we do meet Him.
— Bill Kent, Pastor of Memorial Baptist Church, Sylvania, Georgia
These famous words from legendary NFL quarterback Peyton Manning became legendary in their own right as part of the pre-snap cadence of the two-time Super Bowl champ. They inspired advertisement deals and even the name of Manning’s own media company. Thousands of kids who dreamed of one day being in the NFL imitated Manning’s famous cadence in their backyards.
A cadence — a series of verbal cues from the quarterback to his teammates — indicates to them when the ball is to be snapped and, sometimes, even what the play is. Quarterback cadences can do tremendous damage to a defense when utilized effectively; they can throw defenses into confusion, delay their reaction times, and stifle their ability to make their own pre-snap adjustments. And cadences, at their most effective, induce defensive players to jump offside.
I wonder, do you recognize how much damage the lack of a consistent cadence is doing to your walk with Christ?
A synonym for the word “cadence” is “rhythm.” Jesus had rhythms, or cadences, in His life that we would be wise to emulate. According to Luke 5:16, Jesus “often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Just one chapter earlier, we’re told that “he went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom” (Luke 4:16). As was His custom.
Jesus, of course, is God Himself as a member of the Trinity. So why did He pray? Well, that question could take us down many rabbit holes. But one of the reasons He had such cadences — of regular individual devotional time as well as regular experiences of corporate worship — was for our benefit. See, He was setting an example for His people to follow, not just for those in the first century but for you and me today.
We too are to build into our lives regular cadences of personal time spent with God: praying to Him, reading His words in the Bible, spending time simply abiding in His presence. How are we supposed to get to know Him and love Him if we consistently neglect time with Him? I’ve found that my cadence of personal devotion to God is best done in the morning, before I start my day. My mind is clear and my surroundings are quiet. Mornings work for me, but as you find your cadence, make sure you do what works for you.
In the same way, we are also called to build a regular cadence of corporate worship together with other followers of Christ. This of course is accomplished through the local church. Jesus customarily went to the synagogue (what we call church) on the Sabbath day to spend time with other believers and worship God together. This type of church attendance should be a regular cadence in our lives too. Jesus died to save all of His people, not just you, and we are robbing ourselves of the fullness of the Gospel if we neglect gathering with other believers.
Like a quarterback getting the defense to jump offside when he switches up his cadence, so you too are prone to suffer spiritually if you don’t have consistent cadences of personal and corporate worship. Your devotion to God will weaken and your obedience to Him will be weaker still.
Don’t do that to yourself! Find your spiritual cadence, and then experience the fullness of joy that God promises in His presence.
