Be still and listen to the coach

"Be still, and listen to the coach"















Things are bad. Oil streams into the Gulf, killing innocent wildlife and destroying the livelihood of thousands of people; record floods have destroyed hundreds of homes in the Midwest; the economy continues to struggle to recover after hundreds of thousands of folks lost their jobs; our courageous men and women in the armed forces continue to give their lives in service to our country in overseas venues, in order to protect you and I; all across the world the unjust are having their way at the expense of the good and righteous folks. Yep, things are bad and unfortunately, they are probably going to get worse, before they get better. Everywhere I go that is what the common thinking is. I tend to agree with that. Let’s just say that in sports terms, it looks bad for the home team, right now.

Imagine that two great sports teams are playing a championship game on tv and you recorded the game to watch it later. You tried your best to avoid hearing how the game turned out, because you wanted to watch the recorded game without knowing the outcome. However, you accidentally heard the outcome (and your team won) on the radio. Now, when you watch the game and whenever your team got behind, you didn’t worry, because you knew your team won the game. You see, Jesus Christ has paid the price and achieved the ultimate victory of eternal life for the Christian. No matter what we go through here on earth; no matter how bad it looks for the home team; we can rest assured of the ultimate victory..even victory over the grave. In the meantime, the Lord himself is the coach, who knowing the outcome of “the game” is certain, provides support and encouragement to the team as they ebb and flow during the dynamic execution of the game, being both productive and non-productive at times as they play.

We are such a busy generation, we seldom have time to be still and listen to the coach. If we (especially as Christians) would do that, we would hear something extraordinary.

There is a still, small voice that is speaking from the cosmos to the heart of the Christian today. That voice is saying, BE STILL:
Be still and know that I am God;
Be still and know that I care;
Be still and believe and trust in my promises;
Be still and hold on to my cloak of great righteousness and power;
Be still and know that I will one day turn your tears into rivers of joy;
Be still and listen to my voice that comes to you in the midst of your fear and loss of hope;
Be still and listen because I Love You more than you could possibly imagine.
Be still and know that the victory is won.

Beloved, God has promised to one day even wipe away all tears from the eyes of his loved ones: "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Rev. 21:4). In other words, the game is over, and God’s team wins! In the meantime, to those that have accepted the gift of eternal life through faith and belief in Jesus Christ, there is assurance and “bright hope for tomorrow”, come what may. Thanks to Jesus, the victory is secure. Paul said it this way, in II Corinthians 4:8-10: "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken, cast down, but not destroyed. Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body".

So, you have a choice today. Do you play “the game” and listen to the coach? Or do you play the game and listen to yourself? The choice is yours.

Blessings!
George