Keep Shooting

When the Cleveland Cavaliers took the court to face off against the New York Knicks in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Thursday evening, their strategy was relatively simple: make someone other than Jalen Brunson beat them.

On the surface, the strategy made perfect sense. Brunson, after all, had been the primary catalyst in leading the Knicks to a furious late-game comeback at the end of Game 1. When left one-on-one, he easily sliced through the Cleveland defense to create open looks for himself.

In Game 2, Cleveland responded by blitzing and applying additional pressure on New York's All-Star guard, leaving certain players open for perimeter shots as they tried to contain Brunson's scoring.

The biggest beneficiary of Cleveland's Game 2 approach was Knicks guard Josh Hart, who finished as the game's leading scorer, dropping in a team-high 26 points to give New York a 2-0 series lead.

Although Hart initially struggled to find his shooting rhythm in the first half, he kept firing away when left open, eventually finding his groove and leading the Knicks' game-altering 18-0 run in the third quarter.

ESPN writer Vincent Goodwill spoke of Hart's performance this way:

"Hart missed his first three attempts from distance -- leading him to put his jersey in his mouth and bite it as he slammed the ball down hard in frustration -- but he promised beforehand he would keep shooting and stayed true to his word, leading the Knicks in shots in the first half."

Later in the same article, Goodwill quotes Hart himself as saying, "I was kind of frustrated, I've been putting in the reps. It's not translating right now. I just knew I would keep shooting, and if I did that, I would be good."

The quotes from that article make it clear that Hart knew what was coming and prepared himself for it in advance. He came into the game knowing he would keep shooting, and he stayed true to his word, continuing even when he didn't see the results he wanted at first.

As followers of Jesus, we can draw tremendous spiritual parallels from Hart's approach in Game 2 last night.

When it comes to our spiritual lives, God has given us very clear directives and principles in His Word intended to lead us to a life of flourishing and bringing honor to Him.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV) reminds us of the sufficiency of God's Word to equip us to live a godly life: "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."

However, the sufficiency of God's Word doesn’t mean we will always see the desired results right away. For instance, a parent might bring godly discipline and instruction to their children, but that doesn't mean the child will become perfectly obedient right away. Likewise, cultivating a deep love for and understanding of the Bible won't happen with a single reading session.

But just as Hart stayed true to his word and kept shooting even when things didn't appear to be going the right way at first, so must we "stay true to His Word" (the truths found in the Bible) and "keep shooting" (acting in obedience) even when we’re not seeing the desired results immediately.

Perseverance is such an important aspect of godly character that the Lord has ordained we won't always see instant, ultimate results, even when we are doing the right things.

Hebrews 10:36 (NLT) reminds us, "Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that He has promised."

All of God's promises are true, and all of His ways are best. But when we aren't seeing the results we desire, we can sometimes be tempted to either give up on our pursuit or try a different path from the one laid out for us in Scripture. In an attempt to be pragmatic, we can end up disobeying Scripture.

It is vitally important that we demonstrate our genuine belief in God and His timeless truths by continuing to adhere to the principles He has laid out, regardless of the outcomes we may see with our eyes.

When we share the gospel with unbelievers and pray fervently for their conversion, yet don't see them come to Christ, the correct response is not to try to create a new and novel plan in hopes they will somehow get saved. Rather, we continue to pray and evangelize as God has commanded in His Word, leaving the results up to Him. We just “keep shooting.”

Of course, this doesn't mean we can't look for different ways to apply God's principles wisely, depending on the circumstances. It does, however, mean we aren’t going to discard clear directives from God simply because we’re not currently enjoying the outcomes.

Galatians 6:9 (NASB) serves as tremendous encouragement to us as we strive to faithfully persevere in following God's Word: "Let's not become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not become weary."

Today, let's make sure we stay true to God's Word even when we don't see the results we had hoped for. Let's trust in the knowledge and goodness of our God, knowing His ways are always best.

Keep shooting!

I'm Matt Osborne, and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for giving me everything I need to live a godly life. Please help me to obediently persevere in doing Your Word, trusting that You will bring about the appropriate results in due time. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.