3  seconds.

The clock displayed it, the referee announced it, and the crowd knew it. The 3rd quarter was quickly coming to an end

. At that point, my nephew, Caleb, had the ball in his hands.  His team had already established a pretty nice lead so he could have just let the time run out.  

He was on the opposite end of the court so as he started to move, the crowd started the countdown. Caleb dribbled to half-court, then took a shot.

Just as the buzzer sounded, the ball swished through the hoop. 

The time that could have easily been written off just turned into 3 more points.  

The Bible tells the story of another Caleb. After 45 years of faithfully serving God and Israel, he was ready for his inheritance.  

“…And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old.  I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.” (Joshua 14:10b -12)

At a time when he could have been picking out retirement communities, this Caleb was ready to establish his own territory. It wasn’t going to come easy but he assured them … he was ready for the challenge. 

Caleb did his part and God responded just as He promised. 

We’re in the final stretch of 2020. With all of this year’s challenges, it would be easy to  just count down to 2021 and let the clock run out … or you could start dribbling with your eye on the goal.

The game isn’t over yet. 

What does that mean for you?  Maybe your marriage is barely surviving the quarantine – get counseling now. For someone else, it could be that your faith has been weakened by the disappointments – get in the Word now. You don’t have to wait for January 1st. 

You might be saying, “Easy for you to say, you don’t know what I’m dealing with.”  And you’re right, I don’t. In the video, I was the crazy lady yelling “Shoot!” to my nephew. That’s really easy to say from the sidelines but I knew something about my nephew.  He’s been playing basketball pretty much since he could walk. He practices, works out and does drills so he can be better on game day. I had complete confidence that if he took the shot, he could make it.  

I may not know you like that, but I know the God we serve. I KNOW He will complete the good work He has started in you. (Philippians 1:6)

There is one more thing about the game that I should mention. This wasn’t the only video of the night. There were plenty of other moments that I also caught on camera, good and bad. But I have been watching this one over and over again. 

I’m so glad he took that shot. 

What are you going to do with the time we have left in 2020? As the good Lord leads, take the shot. You’ll be glad you did.   

~Anu