Seriously, God...what I thought was a loss was actually your bigger gain?
We can see our disappointments in life as something negative, but when God's cooking there is always something bigger happening.
Through my 20s I admit I was a bit of a Patriots and Tom Brady fan because I love an underdog story and for so many years Tom Brady wasn’t the football GOAT quite yet, but had that aura of underdog-to-greatness going for him. In 2008 though, the Patriots were flirting with a perfect season that would be capped by a Super Bowl win, which hadn’t been done since the 1972 Dolphins. They were a juggernaut of a team. So when Super Bowl XLII started with the Patriots matched up against the New York Giants it was David versus Goliath, and I was pumped to see Goliath make history.
Fast forward through the game, but it was a low scoring and largely defensive struggle until the last part of the 4th quarter. After a bit of back and forth, the score was 14-10—advantage Patriots—with about 2:40 left in the game. It was the Giants ball, and they would have to march down the whole field and score a touchdown. On this drive is where 95 million plus witnessed the famous David Tyree Helmet Catch.
This catch was improbable. As I was watching Eli Manning barely evade getting sacked, chuck a ball to the middle of the field, and David Tyree (number 85) hang on to a ball by pinning it to his helmet, I can remember thinking—what in the world just happened. Are we serious? At that crucial moment, the tide had turned and it felt inevitable that the Giants would go on to score and win this game, slaying Goliath. So many in the world love sports and when the team they are rooting for loses in such a heartbreaking manner, it brings a damper to the rest of the day or days. I felt the same way that Sunday when I didn’t get to see history made by the Patriots.
What I didn’t realize until now is that a different history was made.
I love podcasts and specifically Christian testimonies, so when I found this podcast, God Out Loud, along with the greater Proclaim Network it is a part of, I began to pour over the different stories about God working out there in the world. This latest episode told a story about the David Tyree catch that I had no idea about. Take a listen to the episode (and the entire podcast series just because it’s good), and you will hear how God had a different plan for that Super Bowl.
In summary, this guy named Hubie Synn prophesied to David Tyree that he’d be known as a wide receiver for something special. At that time that felt impossible since David Tyree was as third string receiver and mostly a special teams player. This podcast episode will introduce you to Hubie which is its own amazing story, but he retells how he told David this. The reality is, after hearing that word of God through Hubie, David Tyree didn’t become Randy Moss (the Patriots receiver who did have a historic year in 2007-2008 season). Rather he stayed in the situation he was. It wasn’t until that Super Bowl and this infamous Helmet Catch that would propel David Tyree to every news sports headline thereafter. During that time he didn’t miss a chance to tell others about what God was doing in his life.
Apparently God had something completely different in mind for this game than what I had hope for, which was a Patriot’s dominating win. I may have felt down after that game, but how could I have known God was cooking something far greater?
After hearing a different story about this historical event, I was reminded that God’s ways are way above ours and when he is cooking we just have to give thanks. That catch…that Giants win…that was God’s working based on this story. Yet, all I knew at that time after the clock hit 0 was I was bummed my team had lost. Millions of people felt that way.
I think of all the things that have happened in my life that I wish hadn’t, and I think now what was God doing during those times? What was he doing for me, but even more mysterious, what was he doing for someone else? God’s plan and work is that dynamic, but yet we get so worked up based on the limited scope of vision and understanding. I know it’s easy to say and the feelings of loss or disappointment are real, but if we know God has a plan for us and others then we just need to respond with thanks and a more half-glass full thinking. The irony for David Tyree is that helmet catch was his last in the NFL. He had experienced injuries in subsequent seasons and eventually left the game. I’m sure that wasn’t in David’s personal plan because we all take pride in our work and efforts, but he continued to share God’s light. That’s what we need to do—no matter the circumstance—shine Christ’s light in the world.
What event in your life have you labeled as negative, but can give thanks for even without knowing what God was doing?