Following Instructions

In every sport, coaches teach their athletes what they need to do and how they need to do it in order to have success. As believers in Christ, this is what God does for us, as well through His Word, the Bible.

A coach is never happier than when an athlete experiences success by performing in a game what they were taught to do in practice. You've seen how excited the defensive line coaches get in football—jumping up and down, head slapping, chest bumping, high-fiving his athletes the moment after they made a big sack. I think the same is true of God. But how much more joy does He have when we experience success and joy by trusting His ways and doing what we've been taught? The angels in Heaven may even be chest-bumping and high-fiving, just like the D-line coaches when this happens!

Coaches teach athletes what they need to do because they know it will benefit them as individual athletes and also bless the team with greater success. If an athlete doesn't follow the coach’s instructions, their chances of experiencing success diminish greatly. Knowing what to do but not doing it rarely ends with athletic success, and the same is true spiritually. But just like athletes, when we as believers trust our eternal Coach and do what we've been taught, we will find a positive outcome in the form of God’s will being done.

Today, let’s keep learning, trusting and doing what we’ve been taught through God’s Word knowing that it can make all the difference in the success we experience, both on the field and in life.