They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.
Psalm 84:7
If you’re a football fan, you know the thrill and excitement of the “big play” – the one that makes the “Play of the Week” on the evening news, the snapshot that is plastered across the sports page on Sunday, and fuels conversation around the coffee pot on Monday morning.
In life we sometimes are blessed to score a “big play” in our Christian walk. Those mountain top experiences are exhilarating. God reveals a great truth, we obey His direction, and experience the thrill of being used in the life of another human being. Surely, sharing the gospel and then praying with someone to receive Christ is the “winning touchdown play” in the Super Bowl of life. Maybe your big play is seeing a relationship restored because you followed God (and swallowed your pride) by picking up the phone. Or you’ve seen your marriage turned around because you obeyed God and decided to “go first” with saying what needed to be said.
Every day does not come with touchdown moments. And, if they did, they would cease to be special or remarkable. Big plays are labeled big because they are also rare. Day to day life is more of a ground game. One play at a time, moving the ball forward – gaining ground, losing ground – but determined to forge ahead. When we are faithful to do our job one day (or one play) at a time, we are ready for the big play that often comes when we least expect it. Victory comes from being faithful in lots and lots of small plays and sometimes one big play. We move forward from “strength to strength,” as the Psalmist wisely said.
Perhaps we need to start viewing the day to day – strength to strength – as the real success stories. When we lean into His strength and obediently follow where He leads, that is real victory. Rather than waiting for the “big play” or the “big day,” we can experience victory every day, as we trust Him—one strength, one day, one play at a time.
(Photo Attribution: December 3, 2010 – Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images North America)
1 Response to On the Field Plays off the Field: The Play of the Week