If the Broncos lose their game tomorrow I won’t be disappointed, because frankly they weren’t even supposed to be here in the first place, and it’s amazing that they’ve come this far. Just the fact that they have won a playoff game and lived to play another is more than anyone thought they could do. And against the Steelers. Many of you probably don’t know that the Steelers defense is number one in the NFL. (Watching the game last Sunday, I could see why– when both teams lined up on the field most of the Steelers players looked twice as big as the Broncos players. That’d be enough to intimidate me!) Their plan was to shut down the heretofore fairly effective running game of the Broncos… and shut it down they did. What they weren’t expecting was to see Tim Tebow pitch so effectively. He could always throw, he couldn’t always pitch. Watching him Sunday, most of those throws were dead-on. Shows that hard work pays off.
So if they lose to the Patriots Saturday… and I have no expectations for them to win, though I certainly hope they do, but after watching the Chargers lose to them in the playoffs year after year I have to be realistic… I won’t be disappointed, because I will remember that it’s incredible that they are even there in the first place. However, I am not saying a win is impossible… after the season the Broncos had you can never say that… because they have already defeated the toughest defense in the NFL! Whatever the Patriots throw at them will not be as good as that. However, Tom Brady and his offense is very good, so my prediction is it will be a high-scoring game with a close score. My greatest hope is that it will be a good game. That we can look back on it and, if the Broncos lose, we can still say “They did their best and had an incredible season.” The worst kind of losses are those that a team shouldn’t have lost, but did so through carelessness or mistakes. There have been some Broncos losses this season that have been like that. I just hope if they lose, it won’t be one of those.
But after all, they may win! That would be the best of all… and I think after last weekend both the Patriots and their fans are a little bit nervous.
I was thinking today, though, about how God has used Tim Tebow, and how his entire life is a miracle. The truth is, Tim Tebow and the Broncos never should have been in the playoffs at all. They got there by virtue of seven wild and crazy Bronco wins under the leadership of Tebow, the luck of having had two of those victories come against division rivals the Chargers and the Raiders (who finished the season with the same record, 8-8, but did not win because both had lost to the Broncos), and a Raiders loss to a Chargers team coming off a 6-game losing streak. They squeaked into the playoffs by the width of a gnat’s eyebrow. And then they got luck– the first game would be at home, because even though the Steelers had a better record than them, the Steelers were the wild-card team! None of those things should have happened… and then nobody thought they could win. Everybody knew the Steelers defense would shut down the running game, Tebow wasn’t very good at throwing the ball, and Roethlisberger, despite a sprained ankle, is an extremely good quarterback. One article I read detailed how the Broncos didn’t have a chance and predicted they would lose by a score of 21-10. I hoped they would win, but knew Tim Tebow would have to step up his passing game to do it. Well, he did. And they won. True, they gave up an early lead and it came down to the wire at the last– but they won against the best defense in the NFL.
And now they are facing Tom Brady and the Patriots– and Tom Brady doesn’t have a sprained ankle. But the Patriots also don’t have the greatest defense. So it will be an interesting game to watch. But as I look back over the season, it is amazing to realize how far the Broncos have come, and see how many times we can point to a moment and say, that should never have happened… they shouldn’t be here. Yet they are.
And so is Tim Tebow. It is a fitting metaphor for his life. Tim Tebow shouldn’t have been here in the first place… and wouldn’t be, if it had been left solely up to the doctors attending his mother during her pregnancy. Due potentially life-threatening complications during the pregnancy, she was told she should get an abortion– but she refused. The doctor’s didn’t expect the baby to live anyway, but in spite of all odds, he did. It was a long, difficult pregnancy, and after Tim was born the doctor told his father, ”Mr. Tebow, your child is a miracle baby. I can’t explain how it happened…”
Tim Tebow, despite all odds, was born, and was drafted in the first round by the Denver Broncos, and was made starting quarterback in his second season with them, and turned a losing season around, and, in my opinion at least, proved he has what it takes to play football in the NFL. He lead the Broncos to a division title and a playoff win… none of that should have happened, but all of it did.
So while I won’t be disappointed if the Broncos lose on Saturday, I won’t be surprised if they win, either.
Do I believe God is involved with all this? Yes, with all my heart. God said, “Those who honor me I will honor,”(1 Samuel 2:14) and,
“Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
With a long life I will satisfy him
And let him see My salvation.” (Psalm 91:14)
So if they lose to the Patriots Saturday… and I have no expectations for them to win, though I certainly hope they do, but after watching the Chargers lose to them in the playoffs year after year I have to be realistic… I won’t be disappointed, because I will remember that it’s incredible that they are even there in the first place. However, I am not saying a win is impossible… after the season the Broncos had you can never say that… because they have already defeated the toughest defense in the NFL! Whatever the Patriots throw at them will not be as good as that. However, Tom Brady and his offense is very good, so my prediction is it will be a high-scoring game with a close score. My greatest hope is that it will be a good game. That we can look back on it and, if the Broncos lose, we can still say “They did their best and had an incredible season.” The worst kind of losses are those that a team shouldn’t have lost, but did so through carelessness or mistakes. There have been some Broncos losses this season that have been like that. I just hope if they lose, it won’t be one of those.
But after all, they may win! That would be the best of all… and I think after last weekend both the Patriots and their fans are a little bit nervous.
I was thinking today, though, about how God has used Tim Tebow, and how his entire life is a miracle. The truth is, Tim Tebow and the Broncos never should have been in the playoffs at all. They got there by virtue of seven wild and crazy Bronco wins under the leadership of Tebow, the luck of having had two of those victories come against division rivals the Chargers and the Raiders (who finished the season with the same record, 8-8, but did not win because both had lost to the Broncos), and a Raiders loss to a Chargers team coming off a 6-game losing streak. They squeaked into the playoffs by the width of a gnat’s eyebrow. And then they got luck– the first game would be at home, because even though the Steelers had a better record than them, the Steelers were the wild-card team! None of those things should have happened… and then nobody thought they could win. Everybody knew the Steelers defense would shut down the running game, Tebow wasn’t very good at throwing the ball, and Roethlisberger, despite a sprained ankle, is an extremely good quarterback. One article I read detailed how the Broncos didn’t have a chance and predicted they would lose by a score of 21-10. I hoped they would win, but knew Tim Tebow would have to step up his passing game to do it. Well, he did. And they won. True, they gave up an early lead and it came down to the wire at the last– but they won against the best defense in the NFL.
And now they are facing Tom Brady and the Patriots– and Tom Brady doesn’t have a sprained ankle. But the Patriots also don’t have the greatest defense. So it will be an interesting game to watch. But as I look back over the season, it is amazing to realize how far the Broncos have come, and see how many times we can point to a moment and say, that should never have happened… they shouldn’t be here. Yet they are.
And so is Tim Tebow. It is a fitting metaphor for his life. Tim Tebow shouldn’t have been here in the first place… and wouldn’t be, if it had been left solely up to the doctors attending his mother during her pregnancy. Due potentially life-threatening complications during the pregnancy, she was told she should get an abortion– but she refused. The doctor’s didn’t expect the baby to live anyway, but in spite of all odds, he did. It was a long, difficult pregnancy, and after Tim was born the doctor told his father, ”Mr. Tebow, your child is a miracle baby. I can’t explain how it happened…”
Tim Tebow, despite all odds, was born, and was drafted in the first round by the Denver Broncos, and was made starting quarterback in his second season with them, and turned a losing season around, and, in my opinion at least, proved he has what it takes to play football in the NFL. He lead the Broncos to a division title and a playoff win… none of that should have happened, but all of it did.
So while I won’t be disappointed if the Broncos lose on Saturday, I won’t be surprised if they win, either.
Do I believe God is involved with all this? Yes, with all my heart. God said, “Those who honor me I will honor,”(1 Samuel 2:14) and,
“Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
With a long life I will satisfy him
And let him see My salvation.” (Psalm 91:14)
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