Under The Oakes

Growing up in Western New York, you are almost guaranteed to become a Buffalo Bills fan. My Grandfather was a Bills fan, my Dad was a Bills fan, I am a Bills fan & as it stands at the moment, my sons are Bills fans too (most days). You just can’t not root for them. They have seen so much heartache over the course of my lifetime alone, you just have to have pity for them…. As Bills fans we developed a phrase that we say each year. Some years we know by early November this basic truth so we say that phrase then. Some years it is mid-late January before we say this phrase, but nevertheless we say it EVERY.YEAR… the phrase? “Well, there’s always next year”….. 

We know that at some point our chances of going to the Super Bowl, let alone winning it have disappeared, so we’ll hold our head high & look forward to the next season because there’s always next year! If you’re not a football fan, stay with me. I assure you there is application here on this. This past season Buffalo had a tough time staying healthy. They shot themselves in the foot more often than not & ended up facing an uphill battle pretty much the entire second half of the season & in the playoffs. Recently they lost in a thrilling overtime game that sent them home & sent the winning team to the AFC Championship game. 

That was heartbreaking enough truthfully, but for us Bills fans, our heartache wouldn’t end there. Monday morning of that week rolled around & we quickly learned that the organization had fired their head coach Sean McDermott. While Buffalo has struggled in winning some BIG playoff games in McDermott’s tenure, he has done so much good with them since they hired him. He got them into the playoffs ending the longest current streak of not making the playoffs in the NFL (17 years with no playoff experience). He helped build a culture that players wanted to play in & he was a key piece of the puzzle to a potential Super Bowl appearance. 

Many fans, sports analysts & players let their opinions known that this was an unfair firing. While McDermott may have been A problem, he wasn’t THEE problem…..  We heard a brief statement from the organization that they were parting ways, but that was all they said on the matter. A few days later, the Owner & General Manager held a press conference on the firing of McDermott. It was there that Bills fans were truly enraged truthfully. When asked why owner Terry Pegula fired McDermott, Pegula told a story. He told us what the locker room environment was like after that loss. He mentioned players crying, nobody acknowledging the owners presence in the room. He even mentioned that when he spoke to their star QB, he remained silent. He said it was in that moment that he decided a coaching change was needed. 

Maybe I’ve lost you already, but if you’re still with me, let’s just be honest here. Do you know what Mr. Pegula did in firing his head coach? He made a BIG decision based off of his feelings….. Well that’s not what we should do…. I know if I made all my decisions based solely off my feelings, I’d be in horrible shape. Should we make our decisions, big or small based off our feelings? What does Scripture say about this?

Proverbs 3:5 tells us to trust in the Lord with all our heart & lean NOT on our own understanding… Wise King Solomon goes on to say in verse 6 that if we acknowledge The Lord, He will make our paths straight. While the book of Proverbs is often treated as the book of Promises, this is a Proverb that you can take to the bank! Because it isn’t dependent on us, it is dependent on God. He will work out all our problems, but only if we trust in Him in ALL things… (Don’t mishear me that being a christian means you don’t have any problems… that’s not the takeaway here) We live in a culture that says to “listen to ourselves” & to “trust your heart” when it comes to life changing decisions… I want to tell you that is straight up garbage…. The Bible tells us in Jeremiah 17:9 that the heart is deceitful above all things & that it is desperately wicked! Why would God describe our heart in this way?

Because God knows that we are EXPERTS at rationalizing sin in our lives…. We can convince ourselves it is “fate”, or “it isn’t THAT bad”, or it is a “reward” because we’ve been so good. Our heart will play tricks on us, time & time & time again… I remember hearing about a man I’ll call Don. Don was everyone’s favorite. Don brought donuts daily to the office for himself & his co-workers. Of course, there never was a full dozen in the box, because Don scarfed down 2 donuts before he hopped on the elevator. At a medical appointment Don was told he had to give up the daily donuts. He told his coworkers of this new lifestyle he would be pursuing so they wouldn’t expect him to be traveling with donuts anymore. Imagine their surprise when just two short weeks after this promise, Don showed up whistling as he got off the elevator carrying donuts… They asked what had happened & he shared how God had worked in his life that morning! He woke up, craving donuts… So he said a little prayer, “God, if it’s your will, when I drive by the donut shop, if there’s an empty parking spot, that will be a sign that I should stop & get donuts!” They eagerly asked, “So there was an empty spot?!” Don said, “well what do you know, the 6th time around the block, there was an empty spot!!!”

That is us through & through. When met with decisions, big or small, we need to take them to the Lord in prayer….. I don’t know if Mr.Pegula is a praying man, but I wish he would have prayed about this problem, before firing his head coach based off emotions… Thankfully, at the end of the day, it is JUST a sport & I know many haven’t, but I’ve already moved past this… God is bigger than these problems, & He is still sovereign & sitting on His throne. Plus…. There’s always next year………Pursue Him, honor Him, glorify Him, in ALL you do! Be blessed!