Coaching Football's "Little Things"

My thanks to Bob Gass ministries for the devotion topic that inspired this entry…

You solve one problem and another one comes along to take its place. They’re not all big but the cumulative effect on us is that it wears us down. (In the battle between the river and the rock, the water wins!) In the Bible, Jesus was pretty emphatic when He said, “Here on earth you will have many trials.” As Rick Warren says in The Purpose Driven Life, “Life is a TEST.

Think about this… how do you assess the strength of something? By testing it! Some of our most life-enriching experiences will come during our worst moments— when our heart is broken, when we feel abandoned, after a big loss on Friday night, when our pain level goes through the roof— and, you turn to God!!! That’s when you learn to pray heartfelt, honest-to-God prayers. Our son had 2 grand mal seizures in one day when he was 4 years old. My wife and I were basket cases. She told me later that all she could do until I arrived at the hospital was to pray the Lord’s Prayer over and over. “It never took on real meaning until I prayed it from a need so deep that I couldn’t even focus on anything but God’s help,” my wife told me later. When we’re in pain, we don’t have the energy for superficial prayers. They come from the depths of our soul.

One of the strongest verses in the Bible is in the Book of 1st Peter. It says: “Don’t be shocked that you are going through testing… It will prepare you.” Prepare us for what? Prepare us for what’s going to come next! James says, “Consider it JOY when you go through all kinds of trials and tests, for they will strengthen you.” We need that strength the next time we’re tested. When we’re in pain, that’s when we discover who we should rely on. If you, at the very least, acknowledge that God is our Source of strength, then you will discover, “The Lord is close to those whose heart is breaking.” (Psalm 34:18)

If you know your Bible stories, realize this: God could have kept Joseph out of prison, Daniel out of the lion’s den, Jeremiah out of the slimy pit and Paul from being shipwrecked… and YOU out of the pain you’re suffering right now! But, He didn’t! As a result, each of those men was drawn closer to God and eventually impacted the world around them. Your problems force you to look to God and depend on Him rather than yourself! This was especially hard for superachievers like St. Paul. “We saw how powerless we were to help ourselves; but, that was good! For then we put everything into the hands of God, Who alone could save us.” (2Corinthians 1:9)

If you haven’t read Tony Dungy’s book, you need to. He has so many great quotes but one that I like says, “I’m a firm believer that the Lord sometimes has to short-circuit even our best plans for our own benefit.” This is a former player, coach and godly man whom I respect and want to emulate. Whether you are a football coach or not, read Dungy’s book!

You’ll never know what God can do until God is all you’ve got. If any of you reading this feels that way right now, you can certainly contact me and we can talk and pray about it. But I want to encourage you to place your needs into His capable, loving hands and watch what happens! Learn to rely on Jesus and not yourself.