Watch This!
What a God we have! Just heard that line in a new song that crossed my YouTube page. It is a Beautiful Song and a never more true verse!
Numerous times the past few years, I came to a point while coaching in a game where my faith hit the wall. Our team was struggling and no matter what I tried as a coach, nothing seemed to work. It was in that moment when my hope was at its lowest point that I heard a small voice say,
“Trust Me”.
Those two words have been both like hot chocolate scolding my tongue and like honey to my lips. Not sure if that makes any sense, but when I heard these two words whispered in my ear, I have both doubted and believed. The consequence of my chosen action usually played a critical role in the result of each of those games.
You see, numerous times in my life, I have come to that place in a very dark valley where I faced my greatest fears. The loss of a child, the loss of a loved one to cancer, or the loss of my job are just a few of those pits I have endured. During these challenging times, I have learned no matter what, Trust God!
Even more challenging is the helpless feeling of being a father and/or a husband and being unable to help one of my children or my wife as they were going through an attack from the enemy. It was in that dark hopeless valley that I really had to trust the whisper. It was once again a quiet voice that breathed two powerful words of life into my ear.
“Trust Me”
Those two words were all the hope I had left to hold onto in each of those dark painful valleys, but each and every time my Savior was faithful to bring us through.
When I heard those words whispered in my ear in the middle of a game for the first time, I almost laughed. Would God care about a game? It is not life or death. I said, “Really Father God?” As a Good Father can only do, I heard Him whisper it again, “Trust Me”.
I would love to tell you that I have heard those words every game and the result was always a win, but that is not the case. There have been plenty of times that I failed to trust Him. I am guessing there are numerous times that I couldn’t have heard the whisper even if He was hollering, because I was too busy yelling at the officials or my players.
I also believe, there are times that I or my team needed to be taught a valuable lesson of trusting God through adversity or even a loss, because through those lessons He was preparing us for greater opportunities. It is not easy to admit, but I have been humbled many times and I have slowly learned to be thankful for valuable lessons learned through defeat as well.
Lately I have heard two new words whispered in my ear. Maybe it is because of all the times God has been so faithful over the years, but these words have a different ring to them. What are these two words you ask?
“Watch This”
Could it be that my hearing is dropping off a little as I am getting a little older? Maybe the whisper is still saying “Trust Me”, but I am just hearing Him wrong. These words are actually two words I heard constantly from my children when they were little, especially my daughter Paige, she was always saying “Hey dad, Watch This!” Seems like God is reminding me that it is impossible to please Him without having the faith of a little child!
I have been geeking out of late studying words in the Bible as they were originally written in the Hebrew or Greek. I have been looking up the meanings of words. I find it so interesting that in these languages many words have multiple meanings.
Do you realize that God desires for you to seek Him? The Bible says that if you seek Him with all your heart, you will find Him and you will hear Him. The Bible says if you Turn His direction, which is the actual the meaning of the word “repent”, then He Will heal and bless your land, your home, and your life. The Bible also says you have not, because you ask not. What are you not seeking, not asking, or not hearing today?
The more I think about it, the more it seems that God just may be saying the same two words to me. I just may be hearing them differently. The Truth is they mean the same thing! “Trust Me” and/or “Watch This” both require me to have Faith that my God is gonna show up and show off.
One thing I do know is God has a wonderful sense of humor and the more you get to know Him the more He reveals it to you. I also know that I deserve way less credit for any of my success. Thank the Good Lord that through my weakness, He can show up stronger!
Why me? What have I done to deserve your blessings and favor oh Lord? Could it be the prayers of my mother? Could it be that because of my Father God’s faithfulness and love, that I have learned the value of spending more and my most precious time early in the morning or late at night with You? Could it be that I have learned that You honor daring unhesitant obedience? Could it be that I have learned the hard way that forgiveness is always worth it, pride comes before a fall, and your love never fails?
I have been to third world countries and loved on kids who were born into brutal poverty. Sadly many of these children seemed way more happier than many coaches and players. You can be all decked out in high dollar suit or sweat suits and still lack the joy Father God has to offer! So many seeking joy through worldly success. That is a rabbit hole that never results in true joy.
My goal in writing this is not to bring any glory my direction. I honestly wrestled with God not wanting to share this blog, but I know that if it encourages one person to seek and trust God more, then I must share the good news and pray it draws someone to King Jesus.
Many years ago after being asked to speak at a coaching clinic about some of the offensive and defensive principles we teach our players, my assistant coach once asked me, “Why are you sharing with others the secrets to our success”. I laughed and said, “We are way overrated Bro! There are a million ways to win a basketball game, but there is Only One Way to the Father and that is through accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. With any and all success we are blessed to enjoy, We Must use every opportunity to share hope and the Gospel to Jesus! That is the only true secret in our Sauce!”