The Most Discouraged I Have Seen Boston

Most of the week, Matt and I led a team of college students as they did mission work around Boston. Boston sports come up and I have to explain that Boston sports are basically a religion for a large portion of this city.

I communicate Boston’s passion by describing the deep discouragement Boston felt the Monday after the loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Don't tell anyone, but at the time, I was kind of happy the Pats lost because I had yet to be converted. This was one of the circumstances that convinced me that a missionary in Boston, at the very least, could not pull against the Boston sports teams.  No joke, the day after the loss I have never seen more people so defeated and discouraged. I wanted to rub it in people's faces, but there was no fun in it. I just felt bad. I think most thought this was the end of their historic run.

If the fans felt that way, it's hard to imagine how the players felt. But somehow, they overcame. The historic run was not yet over. They would go back to the Super Bowl in 2019 and beat the LA Rams to bring another Lombardi to New England.

Whether it be football, soccer, baseball, or hockey, sports often serve as a metaphor for life. I think that's one of the reasons so many of us like to watch them. When you see your team overcome defeat and discouragement, you feel like you can too.

This week Nehemiah the rebuilding of the wall begins. Of course, it's not going to be easy. They will face obstacles, sabotage, and discouragement. Yet somehow, they will overcome. We'll see Nehemiah's exemplar faith and courage overcome our dis-courage-ment. If you're feeling discouraged, I hope this week will be so beneficial for you as studying it was for me.