The Goalkeeper Nobody Drafted

In the 2014 World Cup, Tim Howard stood in goal for the United States against Belgium. No major European club had wanted him as a young player. Scouts said his Tourette syndrome made him too unpredictable, too risky. He bounced between reserve squads and loan deals, a keeper perpetually on the edge of being cut.

Then came that sweltering evening in Salvador, Brazil. Belgium launched attack after attack — sixteen shots on goal in regulation. Howard stopped them all. Sixteen saves, the most in a single World Cup match in modern history. A nation that barely cared about soccer stood up in living rooms and sports bars and screamed his name. The man nobody drafted became the wall nobody could break through.

Psalm 118 knows this story. "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone." The psalmist had been pushed to the very brink — "I was pushed back and about to fall, but the Lord helped me." What looked like certain defeat became the stage for the Almighty's deliverance. And the response? Not quiet relief, but full-throated praise: "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Whatever has counted you out — a diagnosis, a failure, a door slammed shut — the Lord specializes in turning rejected stones into cornerstones. His steadfast love endures forever, and He is not finished with you yet.