The devotional below was authored by Bruce Davis.
Bruce Davis is a two-sport letterwinner in football and track. He was a key member of the 1980 Southwest Conference Championship football team that earned an invitation to the Cotton Bowl in 1981 and set the world record in the 60 yard dash with a time of 6.17 seconds. Davis is now the transportation supervisor for the Lancaster Independent School District in Lancaster, TX.
“Setback, A Comeback”
Pray and keep the Faith: Hebrews 11:1, 2 Chronicles 7:14
As the 2020 Fall season approaches, in the midst of all that’s going on in our world today, I can’t help but reflect on what I experienced forty years ago as a 17-year-old freshman from the inner city of Dallas, TX. One of the greatest experiences of my life was one of Baylor University’s more historical football seasons. Our team, led by the legendary Coach Grant Teaff and coming off a Peach Bowl victory in 1979, won each of our first eight games but in the ninth game, the Bears were defeated. Our first defeat.
The late Kyle Woods (23) was defensive back for the Bears during the late 70s. Prior to the 1979 season, Kyle suffered a spine injury that would cause him to be a paraplegic for the rest of his life.
After being dealt a setback for the first time that season, we visited Kyle in the locker room prior to the next game. Coach Teaff allowed him to address the team. During his emotional address, he described his condition as a “setback” and he vowed to make a “comeback.” He stood up for the team, the first time since being injured, and encouraged us to do just that. “Make a Setback a Comeback.” That mantra remained with the team the rest of the season and history shows we were undefeated in conference play and champions of the Southwest Conference in 1980.
As we look at the opportunities we face in the country currently with the COVID-19 pandemic and social unrest, it appears to be a setback. We are resilient. We must keep the faith. Hebrews 11:1 tells us “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” We have faced difficult times before. It always appears to be darkest before dawn. Keep the faith, GOD will see us through. We must continue in prayer as well. In 2 Chronicles 7:14, GOD addresses Solomon during a season of sacrifice, “If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
Baylor nation, we must continue praying for our country, and keep the faith just as the Bears did in 1980. We can “Make a Setback a Comeback.”
Sic ’em Bears.
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