Coaching Football's "Little Things"

Reading something just recently sparked this in my mind…. our pastor preached on “Courage” a few weeks ago and then I read that devotional and I sensed that this is a subject that I need to share with others. Why do we need courage?

Think about this: in 1955 Rosa Parks was arrested in Alabama for refusing to give her seat on the bus to a white man. Boycotts and bloodshed followed until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregation was unconstitutional. Later Ms. Parks wrote: “Knowing what must be done does away with fear. When I sat down on the bus that day I had no idea history was being made, I was only thinking about getting home. But I had to make up my mind. After many years of being a victim… not giving up my seat, and whatever I had to face afterwards, wasn’t important… I felt the Lord would give me the strength to endure whatever I had to face. It was time for someone to stand up— or in my case, sit down.”

Courage is displayed at unexpected moments; what you do in such moments can change you, and those around you. The story’s told of a spy who was sentenced to death by a general in the Persian Army. The general had a strange custom of giving condemned criminals a choice between the firing squad and “the BIG door.” When the general asked, “What will it be?” the spy chose the firing squad. Turning to his aide the general said, “They always prefer the known to the unknown, yet, I gave them a choice.” The aide asked, “What lies beyond the big door, sir?” The general replied, “Freedom.” Then he added, “Few men are brave enough to take that door.”

The dividing line between mediocrity and success is COURAGE! That why King David told his son Solomon upon ascending the throne: “Be strong and of good courage, and… do it.” I like the words that God shared with Joshua before he took the Israelites across the Jordan River into the Promised Land: “Be bold, be strong… for the Lord your God is with you.” He’s with you too as you undertake something that requires courage on your part. Choose the “big door” and step out into freedom.