The Duke and UNC rivalry gave us another phenomenal game with the Tar Heels coming out on top 90-83 Saturday night. Both teams have now won a game on their home court this season, with each matchup being tight and competitive. 

During the exciting game this weekend, we witnessed 24 lead changes and 14 ties. We saw incredible performances from UNC’s Joel Berry II, who dropped 28 points, and Isaiah Hicks, who was hard to stop as he scored 21. Duke also played great with Luke Kennard getting 28 points and four other players scoring in double figures.

All night long the game was intense – going back and forth like a tug of war with both teams making a little run, then the other team answering with a big shot. One minute it looked like UNC would win and the next minute it favored Duke.

UNC finally had a breakthrough and pulled away to victory with Berry II scoring seven straight, Justin Jackson hitting a big 3, and Duke’s Grayson Allen missing three important free throws.

After a night filled with lead changes and ties, and constant back and forth action, the Tar Heels came out on top…proving to be the clear winner.

This game reminds me of the times I experience my own back and forth action. When faced with difficult decisions, or when I try to accomplish something in my own strength, I feel a tug of war battle going on.

I get a little momentum to go one direction and then I quickly get pulled toward something else. My mind deals with many “lead changes” and “ties,” which creates great confusion as I try to figure out what the clear winner should be.

However, in order to experience a breakthrough and stop the back and forth action, I must pause and seek God for clarity. None of us can figure it all out in our own strength and with our own knowledge. Instead, we need to surrender our concerns to God and trust Him with the confusion we have in making decisions.

When we desire to experience victory, we must genuinely go to Him in prayer…expecting a breakthrough according to His will. If we remain in our own tug of war, we will be left with anxiety and frustration.

Paul challenges us in Philippians 4:6 (ESV) to “not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

Although we love the close battles that come down to the wire in sports, we don’t enjoy facing situations that cause us to go back and forth with our decision-making.

Today, as we wait for a breakthrough in our lives, let’s rely on prayer. Let’s depend on God to show us clarity and give us peace about which way to go. I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, sometimes I feel so confused and anxious with a decision in front of me. I don’t know which way to go, but I trust You to provide the breakthrough that I need. Please give me clarity, so that I don’t have to keep going back and forth in my head. Thank you for hearing my prayers and giving me peace. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.