Sam is a promising, young basketball player. He has all the skills necessary in order to play varsity at his school, but recent injuries and other setbacks have gotten in the way of his hoop dreams. In fact, he just found out he has a stress fracture in his shin, which is news that, at 16, can be heartbreaking. Even though Sam has an unbelievable support system at home, this setback has been incredibly difficult for him to handle.

In life, there aren’t many guarantees. We may have the best game of our life today and then have the worst tomorrow. The only thing we can do is obey our calling to be faithful and do our best for God’s glory.

But what happens when you don’t feel God in your life? You know He is there, but it sure doesn’t seem like it or feel like it. In the Proverbs verse above, we read that we can make our plans, but we don’t determine our steps. Who does? The Lord. But what if His way isn’t MY way? That is a big question in sports, especially when it comes to injuries. And, I wish I could give you all the answers, but I can’t. Everyone’s situation is different, and we aren’t all the same. The only thing we can count on is that we all are loved by the same faithful God who is always the same—today, tomorrow, and forever.

I’ve had my share of setbacks in life—from the loss of a child to a bad Achilles injury. But one thing I have always been able to count on is God. We all are in a spiritual fight and taking part in a war not of this world. But like it says in one popular song, there is a light that is beautiful and we can have joy unspeakable that won’t go away—enough strength to make it today and the promise that we won’t have to worry what each day will bring. We can have a rock-solid faith.

Boy, does that sound good or what? How can we have this type of peace and faith? It starts by counting on God daily. No matter what life throws at us, we can count on God to determine our steps.

As for Sam, time will tell where his heart will go. These setbacks will either grow him or consume him. Our prayer is that Sam will be counting on God through the good times and the bad, and that when he looks back in years to come, he will know without a shadow of doubt that God was ALWAYS there. Just like He is for you and for me.