By Mallory Mattingly
Washington Commanders superstar wide receiver Terry McLaurin gets excited when things don’t go his way because he knows that’s when “God has something better than I may have planned.”
“A no doesn’t mean a no all the time. Sometimes, a not yet, a no, is often a time where the Lord is pivoting you into a better direction,” McLaurin said on the “Built Different Ministry Podcast.”
McLaurin loved baseball in high school, but when he tried out for the team, he was told he wouldn’t make it.
“That was the first time that I really was told no in sports. I was very excited to step into this new journey of high school baseball, and to be told that you’re cut from the team, not only the embarrassment that I felt, but I mean, you’re not making the team; everybody knows you’re trying out. You’re Terry McLaurin. I felt that a little identity hit,” he continued.
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McLaurin got home from school the day he was cut from the baseball team and told his mother, who was excited to hear the news.
“I remember coming home, and my mom was lying on the bed, and she was excited to hear the news. I’m like, ‘Well, I just got cut from the baseball team.’ I said, ‘I’m down to my last strike meeting football.’ She said, ‘Well, it’s your best sport, it’s your best opportunity, and I’m going to be here for you, and I’m going to help you get through this,” the wide receiver recalled.
From that moment on, McLaurin put all of his time and energy into football.
“I truly felt like, if I didn’t put all my focus into football at that moment, I don’t know if I’d be sitting here. In that next year, I not only grew eight inches, but I gained 50 pounds from my training, and I started to see myself come into my own as a football player,” McLaurin shared.
“And what I’ve learned through…those countless times of not yet, I know for a fact living here 30 years now that every time I’m delayed, I get excited because I know God has something better than I may have planned for myself,” the wide receiver continued. “Because sometimes, if we get what we want earlier or before we’re ready for it, when we step into that season of our lives, we’ll fumble it away. We may screw it up. We may not maximize it the way the Lord allowed.”
“Those ‘not-yets’ are times to continue to grow and continue to lean into the Lord, and He’s preparing you in a way that you could be ready for those moments,” he added.
McLaurin’s testimony from high school reminds us that rejection is not the end of the story — it’s often the redirection from God that leads to something greater.
When extending his contract with the Commanders in 2022, he thanked God.
“I am thankful to serve a God who has granted me endless grace and mercy,” he wrote. “He is the reason I am standing here today. Without him, I do not know where I would be. I am excited to see what he has in store for me and how he will use my testimony for his goodness.”
McLaurin’s story encourages others to remain patient, stay faithful and keep working, knowing that what may feel like a closed door could actually be God guiding them toward something far better than they ever imagined.
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