Florida Rallies to Win Championship

Despite holding the lead for only 64 seconds of the entire game, the Florida Gators are National Champions! Their depth, athleticism, clutch shooting, and defense down the stretch led to a dramatic 65-63 win over Houston.

For Monday's devotional (READ HERE), I wrote about how Duke squandered their lead against Houston, and it's incredible that two days later, Houston experienced something similar as they squandered a 12-point second-half lead to the Gators and didn't even get a shot off on their final possession.

Instead of focusing on how Houston let the game slip away, I want to unpack how Florida put together an impressive comeback and rallied late to get the win.

The headlines following the game read:

"Florida Rallies Once Again to Beat Houston for NCAA Title" (ESPN.com).

"Florida Rallies Past Houston in Thriller for First National Championship Since 2007" (TheAthletic.com).

"Florida Stuns Houston With Late Rally to Win Third Men's NCAA Basketball Championship" (sports.yahoo.com).

Florida again found themselves down in the game, but like they had done all tournament long, they rallied and put together a comeback.

Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. has been their key star all season long, especially in the tournament, but for most of the game, Clayton was stifled by Houston's defense. It took him 25 minutes of the game to score a single point.

However, in the game's closing minutes, he rallied by hitting two “and one” baskets after being fouled and a three-point shot and made the crucial defensive stop on the final play. He was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player.

One definition of the word rally is "a quick or marked recovery after a reverse or a period of weakness."

Another definition is "a summoning up of strength or courage after weakness or dejection."

Synonyms include recover, revive, revival, resurgence, comeback, rebound, bounce back, get better, and improve.

That sums up the Gators' championship run, which concluded with rallying from 12 points down with 15:30 to go, tying for the third-largest comeback in NCAA championship game history, and finishing on a 35-21 run.

They remained poised, confident, and hopeful even when the game wasn't going as they wanted it to, and cut down the nets in the end. It was a fun finish to an entertaining tournament.

As we think about Monday's devotional about squandering the lead and today, as we look at the concept of rallying, as followers of Jesus, let's be reminded that we always have the opportunity for a comeback.

We often face deficits, finding ourselves “down in a game,” struggling to get things done and not having situations turn out how we want them to, and sometimes squandering opportunities.

However, we must be the kind of people who rally when things are tough and rough, mistakes are made, and opportunities are missed.

Proverbs 24:16 (NLT) encourages us: "The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked."

We must remain poised, confident, and hopeful as we take the steps toward a "marked recovery after a reverse or a period of weakness" and "summon up the strength and courage after weakness or dejection."

Thankfully we don’t have to summon up strength or courage on our own but rather we find both in the Lord as we return to Him and lean on Him to help us rally and experience a recovery, a revival, a resurgence, and a comeback. We can rebound, bounce back, get better, and improve as we trust in Him.

Proverbs 3:26 (AMP) says, "For the Lord will be your confidence, firm and strong, And will keep your foot from being caught [in a trap]."

Psalm 37:23-24 (AMP) explains, "The steps of a [good and righteous] man are directed and established by the Lord, And He delights in his way [and blesses his path]. When he falls, he will not be hurled down, Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand and sustains him."

In talking about the Israel people, God tells King Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NLT): "Then if my people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land."

Today, if we find ourselves out of sync, off track, disobedient, down by 12, or reeling after squandering a lead, let's humble ourselves, pray and seek the Lord, come back to Him, receive His grace, and remember we always have a rally in us because Christ is in us!

I’m Bryce Johnson, and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for my strength and courage because of Christ. When things get tough, I pray I won’t give up but rather lean on You to rally. I appreciate Your grace when I sin against You, and allow me to return to You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.