Just Like Jordan...
...at 4 am!
In the true spirit of Parabolic where we not only bring you the spiritual lessons we ourselves draw from life but also those that others draw…
Proverbs 24:32 Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.
…here is one that I heard from Dr. Myles Munroe (edited version).
Remember “Better than Jordan?” Wow! That one was about the river.
Here we are today with, “Just like Jordan.” This one is about the man. Let us learn a lesson or two from him.
Dr. Myles was talking about a time he met Michael Jordan in a hotel elevator. He leveraged the opportunity to ask him a lot of questions. One of them was, “What is the secret to your success?” This is what Jordan said,
“I work harder than the people who watch me. When I first began playing in High School, my coach told me I would never be a basketball player. He said that I had zero coordination and could not even dribble the ball properly. My coach told me, “You will never play basketball!” and threw me off the team. I went home, wept, got mad, and then decided, “I will play basketball!”
I began going to the court every morning at 4 o’clock. There would be nobody in that old gym at that time except roaches and rats running across. I would take my basketball and just keep shooting. Everybody else was asleep. The other students were asleep. The teachers, including the one who was the basketball coach, were all asleep. They were sleeping but I was working. I made thousands of shots every morning, trying to figure out how to shoot that ball into the basket. Months passed as I maintained that early morning routine. One day, it suddenly clicked. I eventually became so good that I could shoot with my eyes closed. Nobody knew what I had been doing or what had happened.
The next semester I ran to school. The coach put me aside, still insisting that I could not play. One of the players got hurt and I was moved to the bench. Another player was injured and they needed someone to go in. I was picked. I was still that lanky guy, but this time, I knew the basket. I told my teammates that all they needed to do was to pass me the ball. The defence avoided me because they thought I could not play. One of the guys swung the ball to me and all of a sudden, 4 am came upon me and I knew I could not miss. I shot; a 3-pointer. The coach said that it was lucky. Once again, I told my teammates to just pass the ball to me. I got it and once again, 4 am came upon me. Another 3-pointer. This time, the coach told my teammates to keep passing the ball to me. We came from behind and won the game by 16 points. I was the MVP. All the coach could say is, “I think you are doing better.”
The rest is history.
Here’s the Declaration: -
When they say, “You can’t,” tell yourself, “I CAN.”
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
People are entitled to their opinions (so we let them have them) but don’t allow their negative opinions to chart the course of your life by believing what they say about you.
® Jordan was told that he could not play basketball. He refused to align with his coach’s opinion, worked hard, and ended up becoming one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
® Reverend Pete Odera, who ended up at the forefront of contemporary gospel music in Kenya, had been told by one of his teachers, when he was a child, that he could not sing.
® Dr. Myles Munroe himself, when he was a child, had a teacher who said that the blacks were unteachable. According to him, they were barbaric and could not learn. He went home crying to his mother who opened up the Bible, showed him a verse of scripture and told him to read it aloud, over and over again. Eventually, he believed what the scripture said about him and the rest is history.
What they say may affect you and get you down, but do not stay down. Rise up and DECIDE to make it. See how both Dr. Myles and Jordan wept after they had been told that they could not make it? They were just children at the time. This also cautions us to be careful about what we speak into other people’s lives, and even our own.
Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
After you decide that ‘you can’, you need to WORK HARD. Okay, Jordan had been told that he could not play and truly, it looked like he could not, but he decided that he would play. After he decided, he worked at it. You can see it all through his response to Dr. Myles.
What’s that thing that they say, “Genius is ?% ? ,and 90% perspiration.” Please help me out in the comments section if you know this one.
“After all, it is not by great gifts but by patient persistence that men succeed. Indeed, the highest genius is left behind by the careful plodder, if the one lacks and the other possesses this invaluable quality.” F. B. Meyer.
It will require discipline and consistency. My father in the Lord calls this, “Stretching in the area of your desire.” I would recommend his book, The Stretching Generation. It was launched today.
Proverbs 22:29 Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.
When opportunity meets preparation, success is inevitable.
Make the most of that place of obscurity by developing yourself. Jordan prepared for months, in the ‘darkroom’ if I may call it, and then one day, his opportunity came. Some players ‘unfortunately’ (really?) got injured and his unwilling coach had no choice but to let him in the game. Thank God he had taken the time to evolve from that lanky, uncoordinated boy who could not dribble into a sharpshooter.
When that door finally opens, I hope it finds you prepared. Here is a book that can help you prepare for your new.
Yep. It was also launched today.
2Chronicles 27:6 So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the LORD his God.
I’ll leave you with that famous prayer; I forget by whom it was but I have prayed it a lot since I first got acquainted with it. Please join me as we pray.
Abba Father,
For the things I see not, show thou me.
For the things I know not, teach thou me.
And for the things that THOU HAST PREPARED FOR ME, PREPARE THOU ME.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Always a pleasure to read your write-ups!