San Francisco 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey recently suffered a devastating PCL knee injury that will put him out for the rest of the season. Despite the major setback to his career, McCaffrey expressed hope and optimism, trusting in the Lord.
Sharing a post on Instagram, McCaffrey wrote, “Football is the greatest game on the planet to me. I love that you can find out exactly who you are without ever saying a word. It lifts you up and breaks you down, and it can happen fast. It’s humbling in the best ways.”
He added, “You can do everything right and still fail. Thats life and that’s football. It’s a constant test of wills and those who just keep going tend to reap the benefits of their perseverance. This wasn’t my year, and sometimes when it rains, it pours.”
The standout running back concluded, “You can feel sorry for yourself and listen to the birds, or you can hold the line. I’m grateful for the support of everyone in my corner and promise I’ll work smarter and harder than ever to come back better from this. I love my teammates, I love the 9ers, and I love football. God doesn’t miss. Onward ➡️🙏🏼”
The Christian Tribune reported on other expressions of faith in college football when Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers revealed that his relationship with Jesus Christ is the source of his true strength. After leading the Longhorns in a decisive victory over the Texas A&M Aggies, Ewers said, “I just lean on Jesus.”
“Every time we cover you, it seems like your resilience always stands out. How were you processing an early pick and then coming back with a quick touchdown after that?” Ewers was asked by a reporter after the game. “I think it’s just the veteran in all of us, you know. I think we played a lot of ball.”
“We understand adversity is going to strike, and at the end of the day, it’s how you come back and it’s how you respond. It’s 10% what happens to you and 90% of how you react so, you know, I just lean on Jesus, and He just continues to put me through adverse times,” he added.
Throughout his career, Ewers has not shied away from his Christian faith, giving glory to God for his success. Last year, Ewers was asked about what has allowed him to enjoy playing football, to which he said, “Just listening to [God] more and not just focusing on my own ways.”
“God has told me that this game doesn’t define me as a human being, which allows me to play more freely,” he said. “I think really that’s just been the biggest thing for me. … Just listening to Him more and not just focusing on my own ways and knowing that He has a plan for me and to pursue His truth and to continue to seek His truth.”
He continued, “I think that’s really been the biggest thing for me and there’s only one way to freedom, and that’s through Jesus Christ, so find Jesus and everything else’ll be free.” He added, “God is so good. I can’t say that enough — how much God has put me through. He’s made me so strong. I’m so proud of my team, our defense, we balled out. I’m fired up for the rest of the way.”
Featured image credit: Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christian_McCaffrey_(31452665438).jpg