“For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the LORD’s declaration—“plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” — Jeremiah 29:11
All coaches know that to give their athletes or their team the best chance at success or reaching their goals, three things are needed: discipline, training, and a game plan. The game plan simply means to use one’s strengths to exploit the opponent’s weakness. A good game plan is a must. Often, we fail because of the wrong game plan or simply a faulty one.
Life is a competition. We meet challenges every day that present opportunities to help us be successful. We also construct game plans for daily life. We must know our strengths and weaknesses, our opponent (Satan), listen to our coach (Jesus Christ), train hard, and have discipline to reach our goal of knowing Christ.
When I was a teenager, I had a plan to achieve what I thought was important—a college education and a great job earning a big income. My game plan was to achieve it all by age twenty-five. I ended up being a teacher and a coach. After thirty years of teaching and coaching, and twenty-eight years as an FCA Huddle Leader, I retired. As I walked out the door, I asked myself, What have I accomplished? My original game plan seemed to have failed.
Then as clear as it could be, I heard a voice say, FCA. I stopped and noticed that I was by myself. In an instant I realized that this had been God’s game plan for my life. I realized that I had been successful under His plan.
If we love and follow Christ, we can achieve victory! We need to be in tune with God and listen for His “game plan” for our lives.
1. How do you define success?
2. What is your game plan to achieve that success?
3. How do you think you are doing with the plan?
Extra Reading: Psalm 139:6; 1 Corinthians 9:24–27; 5:7–9; Philippians 3:12–14
Father, thank You for all the blessings you have bestowed upon us. Give us strength and courage to seek Your plans and to be obedient to Your call. Amen.
