Standing on the Rock
by Roy Hendrix
What does the expression, “Standing on the Rock” mean to you? Certainly, in religious terms, it means standing up for Jesus. This article concerns a football game and a Texas quarterback named Colt McCoy - who made it clear in an interview after a particular game that he was “Standing on the Rock.”
It makes me feel good when I see famous athletes give praise to Christ. Tim Tebow did this quite often during his football career and this article concerns another quarterback and his praise for Christ. It was the national championship game on January 7, 2010 between Alabama and Texas. I watched it on TV and don’t remember much about the game, except that Alabama won. What I do remember is the post-game interview with the quarterback from the losing team. That short interview made quite an impression on me.
Early in this game, the Texas quarterback, Colt McCoy, was injured and missed just about the whole game and his team lost as Alabama won another championship. Yet, in the post-game interview, Colt McCoy demonstrated humility and class, giving due not only to the Crimson Tide but to God. “I always give God the glory. I never question why things happen the way they do. God is in control of my life and I know that if nothing else, I’m standing on the rock.” Maybe the interviewer was not familiar with this term, but with McCoy’s many references to God, I think it became clear.
It’s good to see a young man who is the leader of a top-flight NCAA football team be so humble in defeat. His boldness in giving God the glory (without being in your face about it) demonstrated a lot of class in such a circumstance. What kind of parents did he have? What a job they did.
Colt had given God the glory for each win during his stellar collegiate career. Then he got a curve ball. Just like that, life made no sense. Why had he been forced to sit and watch his team lose on the biggest stage in college football?
A lot of people would spend the rest of their lives looking for the reason this happened. Not Colt. He knows that some things just happen that don’t make sense at the time. He knows and that’s what so impressive about him.
Maybe God was testing his faith. If so, Colt passed with flying colors - standing on the rock.