2 MINUTE WARNING

It is a tough world out there……

 

And when you have been in the grind, and failed, it is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

 

I can remember the man who hired me as a football coach told me in jest:  “I am 100% behind you if you win or tie.”

 

…..it took me a minute to process…..but when I did we had a good laugh……

 

What is not a laughing matter is how quickly this becomes our reality…….the world wants perfection….and when it does not get it it pours out judgement and condemnation……and when we couple that with the incredibly high expectations that we put on ourselves………it can bring us to our knees.

 

What could be worse?………Not caring.  In my opinion, “not caring” is worse.

 

So what are we to do?

 

If one side of the coin is a standard of expectation that no one could ever meet and the other side does not care, then what should we do?  How can we ever win?

 

A man who mentored me named Rod Olson gave me a third option.

 

It went something like this:

 

If one side of the coin is RESULTS and WINNING, COMPETING and GRINDING, WORKING tirelessly for an outcome that will never be good enough and the other side of the coin is seeing how silly our toil truly is and giving up…..

Then what are we left with?

 

We are left with putting the coin on its edge and spinning it with the flick of our finger……

 

We are left with giving it all to Him…..and loving who we are because He loves who we are……

 

And if you, like me, struggle in this competitive cycle….be encouraged….all of us do…….and so did many in the Bible……..We simply must put His call on our lives and read that love letter that He wrote us……

 

Be encouraged:

 

Paul tells us in Romans 8 Therefore there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus….

 

Peter met a resurrected Jesus and was forgiven for his total and epic failure to stand with Jesus in His darkest hour.

 

Solomon, in Ecclesiastes, found his pursuit to be the best utterly meaningless.

 

And so it is.

 

Until we let go and let God, we toil in a pattern that will never let us enjoy what we truly have or who we truly are….

 

But people who let go and live on the edge?

 

Peter let go of trying to strive to be the best and just started living for Jesus with reckless abandon……and he changed the world.

 

Paul was pursuing religion, and power, and status, and wealth at the highest level….but after he met Jesus on that road into Syria he began to live a life of love and fulfillment, a life filled with hope and TRUE RICHES……claiming all that he had before Jesus was TOTAL TRASH.

 

And what about you?

 

Are you running a race that never ends or have you stepped out of the action all together?

 

Don’t stay there……..

 

Live on the edge for Jesus and let God have the results…..let Him have the glory…..and let Him hold the measuring stick…….

 

Because 2000 years ago on a cross He made a statement to the entire world about you that no one but you can ever revoke….

 

He said you are worthy

That He is for you

That He will never leave you

He said, and SAYS NOW, that your best is good enough

That He is proud of you

And that He will stand by you

And at the end of His journey, He called you conqueror

And holy one

And Champion

 

So live on the edge of that coin for Jesus….with all you do and all you aspire to do…….

 

After all, there will come a day very soon when you will not look at what you accomplished……just who you belong to…..

 

In The Name of the Father and the

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

 

Know anyone who might like these?  Encourage them to jump on to 2minutewarning.blog and hit the FOLLOW button!!!

Coach J