CROWN | Week 15 Devotional

CROWN | Week 15 Devotional

Many people say that Steph Curry is the greatest shooter of all time, but as easy as he makes the game look, his road to greatness has not been as smooth as you might imagine.

While we know Steph as a back-to-back MVP and an NBA champion, there was a time when being an NBA All-Star was a long shot for him. Steph's dad said that no one could envision what he is now able to do on the basketball court. He said that Steph always had the work ethic, drive, and dedication, but you never know how things are going to work out, especially when you were almost completely unrecruited in high school.

The only major program to recruit him was his dad's alma-mater Virginia Tech, and they told him that he would have to walk on. He used that as motivation to work harder, and he kept the faith that the right college would come. Steph ended up starring at Davidson, a small liberal arts school close to home, but his college career started with adversity. In Steph's first game, he started and had 9 turnovers in the first half and they were down 18 points at half-time. Davidson ended up winning the game, and he scored 32 points the next game against high-major Michigan. Steph overcame that early adversity to become one of college basketball's biggest and most celebrated stars, but there were still doubts about his size, his game, and his ability to play in the NBA.

After having a great college career, Steph had his struggles early in his NBA career, especially with injuries. Steph had his struggles and he had to go overcome many obstacles to become the star that he is today.

Jesus had his struggles too. On Palm Sunday, crowds cheered as Jesus came into Jerusalem because they believed that he was the Messiah - the Chosen One of God - who was going to deliver them from their enemies. Just days later, the same crowds that yelled and praised Him were yelling for Him to be crucified.

Jesus was hung on the cross on a Friday but he rose days later. The message is that we have to carry our cross before we can wear our crown.

Sometimes, the only way is the hard way. If you want to go to med school, you have to take organic chemistry. If you want to run a marathon, you have to run your mileage. If you want to get stronger, you have to lift heavyweight. If you want to become a great shooter, you have to shoot a lot. There is no shortcut to success and there isn't a plan B. It is cross before crown. You have to be ready and prepared to persevere while on your journey and when things get difficult.

Fear is real, and the enemy wants you to feel the fear and quit. But fear doesn't have to control us. Adversity and obstacles don't have to stop us. Keep going. Don't quit before the end. It is natural to assume and believe that if things are bad now then that is how it will always be. But keep pushing to the end.

Jesus showed us that we can carry our cross.

He modeled for us that we have to suffer in this world, and the same people who cheer for our arrival might cheer for our departure. But if we stay true to our purpose, we will rise and receive our crown.

You can't wear the crown without carrying the cross, but you will get the crown if you stay with it.

This Week

1 - What is one thing that you have struggled with this week?

2 - What is one thing that you have learned from this struggle?