Many Christians felt that they saw the hand of God influencing the presidential election last November. After 8 years of soul-sucking progressive secularism trying to undermine our civil society, purge every vestige of religion from the public square, and increase dependence on an ever-expanding government, it is comforting to believe that the good Lord finally took pity on us and gave us a leader who – imperfect as he may be – at least promises to reverse course long enough to stall America’s eventual demise ~

“I think maybe God has allowed Donald Trump to win this election to protect this nation for the next few years by giving maybe an opportunity to have some good judges,” (Franklin) Graham, who did not endorse either Trump of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton during the election, contended.
 

 
Well, maybe so… maybe no. But unquestionably there are times when God does intervene and influence human events here on earth. Generally His sovereign intervention is only clear in retrospect, but sometimes it’s evident immediately. I believe last Sunday’s Clemson victory over the University of Alabama was one of those times. Seriously. The Tigers certainly thought so.

 
In case you missed it, it really was one of the best college football games ever; the Clemson Tigers scored in the last second to upset the mighty Crimson Tide 35-31 ~ Clemson shocks Alabama to win first national title in 35 years.
 

 
The team’s head coach, quarterback and the receiver who nabbed the final pass, all unabashedly gave credit for the win to the Almighty ~ ‘To God Be the Glory’: The Faith That Carried Clemson to Victory ~
 

Quarterback Deshaun Watson:

“I’m speechless right now, man. It’s what God want[ed]. He put us [here] for a reason,” he said. “I talked to one of my coaches and he said ‘It’s a movie and it’s going to end the right way. Just keep believing in God, and just believe in your teammates and everything’s gonna fall in place,’ and that’s what happened and now we’re national champs and it’s amazing!”

 
Head Coach Dabo Swinney:

“I said it out on the field and I’ll say it again. For me personally, only God can do this … there’s just no other explanation for me. It’s not anything to do with me. It’s God working through me and the staff and these players.

 
Wide receiver Hunter Renfrow:

“It’s almost like I got knocked out in the third quarter and this is just all a dream. And credit — I think my faith in God really got me through.” In a locker room interview, Renfrow added that winning the championship felt “unbelievable.” “Just glory to God. Thankful for everyone who … got me to this point.”

But as impressive as their win over Alabama was, the Clemson football program’s 2014 defeat of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) intimidation game was even more so. Writing at National Review Online, David French explains how Coach Dabo Swinney defeated anti-Christian scolds ~

On April 10, 2014, the FFRF faxed a letter to the office of Clemson’s general counsel in which it complained that “Christian worship seems interwoven into Clemson’s football program.” The FFRF demanded that Clemson — a public university — not only require Swinney to “cease” his allegedly unconstitutional religious activities but also that it “train” the coaching staff and “monitor their conduct going forwards.”
 
Specifically, the FFRF claimed that Swinney had invited a man named James Trapp to become a team chaplain and gave him access to the team for Bible studies. They also claimed that Swinney scheduled team devotionals and “organized transportation for coaches and players to ‘Church Days.’”
 
The FFRF claimed that even optional team religious events violated the Constitution, and that Swinney “sends a message of exclusion to those players on his team not in conformity with his personal religious beliefs.”

 
Normally colleges cave in to such targeted bullying from the anti-Christian FFRF. Clemson didn’t ~
 

Swinney held firm, and his university backed him. Swinney’s statement was a model of polite conviction. First, he outlined the three simple rules that every player must follow: “(1) Players must go to class, (2) they must give a good effort, and (3) they must be good citizens.” Next, he noted that he’s recruited players “of many faiths.” Then, he made the crucial point:
 
Recruiting is very personal. Recruits and their families want — and deserve — to know who you are as a person, not just what kind of coach you are. I try to be a good example to others, and I work hard to live my life according to my faith.

 
In other words, Swinney is a Christian, and he’s not going to hide that fact from recruits, their families, or the public.
 
For its part, the university made it known that there had been no complaints from athletes and that participation in religious activities was “purely voluntary.” The school went even further, declaring that the FFRF had “misconstrued important facts and made incorrect statements of the law.”
 
Swinney didn’t yield, the university didn’t yield, and more than a year later, Swinney’s message was clear:
 
We weren’t doing anything [wrong]. Ain’t nothing to change. . . . People have just got to be who they are, it’s that simple. We’ve never tried to force anything on anybody. Everybody who comes here to Clemson knows who we are as people.

Amen.
 

I truly believe that God guided Clemson to their NCAA championship as the means to reveal His influence in the lives of the Tiger players and coaches to a worldwide audience.
The Tigers believe it too ~

Watson summed it up in one last interview question on the field. The star quarterback was asked what he told his teammates when he led his offense back on the field after Alabama had regained the lead very late in the fourth quarter. “I walked up to my offensive line and I walked up to my receivers and I said, ‘Let’s be legendary. Let’s be great. God put us here for a reason.’”