I heard this a lot when I was a freshman in college. The conversation was pretty much one sided and it went something like this, “If you want to get on the field, don’t leave my side. When you are not in there, stay right next to me. When I need a defensive lineman, I am only going to yell once.” I thought it was such a good coaching technique that I used it myself when I coached. I usually had one or two players following me around like lost puppies. When I read James 4:8 I am reminded of these days. God tells us that when we come near Him, He will come near to us. In the game of life we will all be on the field. There will come a day when we are put into circumstances that will define us as humans and Christians. It is during these times, just like critical times in athletic contests, that we had better be ready. Athletes get ready for these crunch times by spending time and drawing near to their coach. Shouldn’t we do the same with our God? Jeremiah 30:17 tells us that God will heal us and restore our health. When the time comes when we are tempted, when the time comes that we know we are in a battle for God, shouldn’t we be as healthy as we can possibly be? In Psalm 23:3 we read about God refreshing our souls. As coaches when we put athletes into games, we are counting on them to be fresh and ready to get the job done. When step onto the field for Jesus, He expects us to be as fresh as we can be. In the end, I always wanted to be on the field. I always wanted my athletes to want to be on the field. I also wanted to be as fresh and in shape as possible so I could give all that I had for my team. Shouldn’t we want the same from ourselves when we step into the battle for Jesus?
