Devotional

What If?

By Sarah Freymuth

Ready These are but the fringes of His ways; how faint is the word we hear of Him! Who can understand His mighty thunder? -Job 26:14
Set 

Practices can get repetitive. The same plays, the same conditioning, the same fundamentals over and over again. We listen to our coaches because they have the game plan marked out for the next competition, and we keep in the lines to work as one unit.

Order is important and necessary to bring us to the highest level of performance.

But God is not a checklist.

We don’t do what we’re supposed to or say what’s expected and mark it off as complete. In the same respect, God doesn’t give us a list of instructions so we can be confined to life in a box of rigid obedience.

Whatever is going on in your life on and off the field, with teammates and family, there might not be a lot of room to believe He has your best interests in mind.

You’ve heard about giving God your talent, how He made you and how He has a purpose for your life. But you might be wondering, “Who is God? If He’s as close to me as everyone says, why can’t I feel Him? Is He at work in my life?”

My response to your questions is… what if?

What if you were carted off the field with a career ending injury and you no longer had sports to rely on?

What if as hard as you practice for that title, you never feel the weight of a trophy in your hands?

What if the longing that’s gnawing at you just won’t go away, no matter how many times you’ve tried to banish it from your presence?

What if you were seen, truly and wholly seen, beyond your ability, to the depths of your heart?

What if.

What if what you’ve been wondering about, what you’ve been seeking, has been by your side the whole time?

It’s ok to be curious. It’s ok that you’ve been hesitant and it’s ok that you’re not perfect. Absolutely no one expects you to be. And if you hear that, it’s a lie.

I ask that you search your heart, open up those deep spaces that no one gets to see and ask yourself, “What if?”

What if you were loved without reason?

What if the only thing that mattered was not how you played the game, but how much hope your heart could hold?

What if you dared to walk into that darkness and let the Light come pouring in?

You are seen. You are loved. You are forgiven.

What if you really believed it?

Go 
  1. Have you treated your spiritual life as a checklist, simply going through the motions?
  2. What could your faith look like if you believed God to be big and outside the box?
  3. Do you have confidence that if your playing days were to end tomorrow, you have more to offer the world?
  4. What can you do to focus on your true worth in God’s eyes?
Workout 

  • Psalm 139:13-18

  • Jeremiah 29:11

  • 1 John 4:19

Overtime 

God, I want to come before You completely as I am, without worry about what I’ve done or burdened with expectations others have placed upon me. I want to know who You are, and who You say I am. I want to ask the “what if?” question and know that there is something wonderful inside me that You want to bring out. Help me to know my worth comes from You and not what I do on the field. Let me see myself as You see me. Amen.

Group 
Daily Impact Play
Bible Reference: 
Job 26:14
Psalms 139:13-18
Jeremiah 29:11