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As coaches, we are supposed to teach our players about the game and about life lessons. Sometimes, the reverse happens and our players teach us a valuable lesson. The day before my first home football game of the season, my senior quarterback boldly stood up in front of the entire team and coaches and quoted the above Scripture.
I had the opportunity to attend a coach's forum in St. Louis while ministering at the Final Four. During the forum, a coach from an NCAA Division II school stood and shared his story. He told how his players asked him to lead pre-game prayers before games and practices and was glad to do it. His administration heard about his participation and wrote him a letter asking him to stop this immediately or he would be let go from his coaching position. He had a choice to make.
The Apostle Paul understood one thing in his ministry. Whether he lived or died, Jesus was always enough for him. As he suffered in prison, in persecution and in the loss of his health and possessions, Paul held firm to one thing -- that Jesus would sustain him. Can we say the same?
Jeff, a young man preparing to go to college, is new in his faith in Christ. Before heading off to school, Jeff went on an FCA mission/work trip to New Orleans with his former high school’s Huddle. The trip included many of Jeff’s friends and former teammates, but the most significant person on the trip to Jeff was his younger brother, Dan. And everyone was curious to see how Jeff would live out his new faith in front of his brother.
It’s only a few minutes before tip-off. We hear the band playing to get the crowd excited for the game, and we look around the locker room and watch our players trying to get into the zone. We’ve worked hard to get them prepared, but something isn’t clicking because the team has the pregame jitters. Maybe they think they aren’t as skilled as the opponent, or perhaps they lack confidence in the game plan. It could be fear of failing while fans and media are watching, or fear of not measuring up to personal expectations. Whatever the reason, the result is the same: worry and a lack of focus.
How often do we worry that we are weak? When the struggles of life start to weigh us down, we sometimes get weak in the knees and feel we don’t have the strength to continue. But it’s not always the feeling of physical weakness that makes us tremble; it’s often the feeling that we are alone in the battle. It is always easier in a negative situation to look to people for support than it is to turn our sights to Jesus who is not there in the flesh.
A man named Guy Dowd was once given the National Teacher of the Year award. One of the turning points in his career came, he said, when he was frustrated and couldn’t seem to reach his students. God impressed upon him that he should pray more for them. Each morning Guy would arrive early to pray with his students, sitting down with different ones each day. Over time Guy began to notice a difference not only in the way the students responded to him, but also in the way he taught and responded to the students. Prayer changes our attitudes and helps us see people as God sees them. When we can see people through God’s eyes, it makes all the difference.
Rafer Johnson’s dream of a good life hinged on his athletic ability, even though he’d been told that a birth defect would prevent him from participating in athletics. He chose to deal with the defect as a simple setback rather than as a deal breaker. With the help of coaches and family, he not only won his battle but was declared the world’s greatest athlete when he won the 1960 Olympic decathlon.
Many people miss the heart of the promise in Jeremiah. Many of us forget that this promise is about God’s plans. It’s doesn’t say anything about our plans. As we develop and think about our mission and purpose on earth, we often create our own plans and then ask God to bless them. But a mission that makes a real difference, that makes the very most of our lives, comes from seeking and following God’s plans.
If we want a life-changing, earth-shattering mission—if we want real purpose in our lives—we need to empty ourselves of our ambition and our own plans for our lives. In exchange, God gives each of us a life of meaning, peace and fruitfulness.
As athletes, we’re likely more skilled in our sport today than when we first started playing. After we initially picked up that ball or held that hockey stick or bat, we made the choice to practice and play and to improve and grow.
As college athletes, my teammates and I chose to work on our individual skills and watch game film to improve and be prepared for upcoming games. We chose to grow every day so that we could continue to help our team be successful.
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