"I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received." — Ephesians 4:1
Coaching involves serving, teaching, encouraging, and leading. If you are in a coaching position right now, you have tremendous power to influence the lives of not only the athletes you coach, but also anyone in your circle of influence. What an awesome responsibility.
As coaches, we can be easily lured by the things of the world. We face temptations, what the Apostle John called the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 Jn 2:16). We often find ourselves working overtime to store up earthly treasures like championships, coach of the year honors, and climbing the world’s ladder of coaching success. We measure our identity and worth by the worldly success that we achieve as a coach. Coaching can become our god if we don’t spend time in prayer and in the Word, asking God to show us how we can serve Him in our role as coach.
Let’s take a moment to reflect on the reasons why we coach and what motivates us to work as long and hard as we do. We can meditate on and pray over the following questions, and ask God to help us to determine the honest answers from the depths of our hearts.
1. Why do you coach?
2. Are you coaching for God’s purposes or your own personal desires?
3. Do you see coaching as a ministry or a job?
Extra Reading: Psalm 139; Isaiah 49:1–7; Jeremiah 1:5; Romans 8:28; 11:29; 12:6–8; 1 Corinthians 7:17, 20; Ephesians 4:1–8; 2 Thessalonians 1:11–12; 2 Peter 1:3–10
Dear heavenly Father, may I always live a life worthy of Your calling. May my light always shine before people in all I do. Thank You for creating me for Your purposes and for calling me to serve You as a Christian coach. May my efforts as a coach always be acceptable in Your sight. When You call me home, may I hear You say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Amen.
