The New York Knicks trailed by double digits in every single game of the NBA Finals.

They won four out of five anyway.

Across the country this summer, World Cup underdogs have been pulling off results nobody predicted, upset after upset, since the opening whistle.

I've watched most of both, and I keep coming back to the same question.

What if the leaders who win are just the ones who refuse to stay down?

What if the deficit was never the real story?

Rule #1: You Can Still Win from Behind

The Knicks trailed by double digits in every game of the NBA Finals. They won four of five anyway.

No team in the modern playoff era has climbed back from double-digit deficits more often.

That takes a locker room that believes the game is still open, no matter the score.

Your ministry had a rough quarter. Your team missed the number last year. Your launch flopped in front of everyone.

Whatever setback you're carrying right now is still the third quarter.

Keep playing.

Rule #2: Belief Sets the Ceiling

Jalen Brunson is six foot two. He played the Finals across from Victor Wembanyama, a seven-foot-four Defensive Player of the Year.

For years, people said a team can't win a title built around a small guard.

Brunson scored 45 points in the clinching game and walked away with Finals MVP.

Whatever feels too small about your platform, your budget, your building, or your congregation, keep building anyway.

Rule #3: Redemption Is Still on the Table

Mike Brown got fired four times before this season, first in Cleveland, then the Lakers, then Sacramento.

This year, he coached the Knicks to their first championship since 1973. Fifty-three years of waiting ended on his watch.

Every setback on your résumé is still part of the story God is writing.

Keep leading. Keep showing up.

Rule #4: Two Paths, Same Finish Line

San Antonio's roster came together through years of high draft picks, including Victor Wembanyama, and a few well-timed trades.

New York's roster came together through blockbuster trades and free agent signings, one deal at a time.

Two different construction methods. Same Finals stage.

Stop measuring your ministry by someone else's org chart. Build with whatever is actually in front of you, and stay faithful to it for the long haul.

Rule #5: There's Room for More than the Favorites

This year's World Cup expanded from 32 teams to 48, the biggest field in tournament history.

Four nations played their first-ever World Cup match because of it: Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan.

Growing the field gave more nations a real shot at a moment they'd been preparing for their whole football history.

That's an abundance mindset in action.

Who else could get a seat at your table if you stopped guarding it so tightly?

Rule #6: The World Is Watching Whether You're Ready or Not

Cape Verde is a nation of about 525,000 people, spread across ten small islands off the coast of West Africa. This was their first World Cup ever.

In their opening match, they held Spain, the reigning European champions, to a scoreless draw.

They tied Uruguay next. Then drew Saudi Arabia scoreless to finish second in their group and advance to the knockout round.

A country smaller than most American counties is now playing in the Round of 32, against Argentina, the defending world champion.

Cape Verde showed up before they felt ready, and the moment met them there.

Whatever wave is coming for your church or your platform, in AI, in culture, in whatever's next, you don't get to wait until you feel ready either.

Show up anyway.

Whatever felt like a setback this summer is still just the third quarter.

Keep showing up. Keep building anyway.

Which one of these lessons is God putting in front of you right now?

Thoughts?