Turning Point

Rafer Johnson played basketball at UCLA, competed in the 1956 Olympics, and won gold at the 1960 Olympics. After retiring, he starred in shows and movies and developed a close friendship with Senator Robert F. Kennedy. In athletics, politics, and cinema, he was a star. Rafer credited his success to his college basketball coach, the legendary John Wooden. Coming from a small community, Rafer was intimidated, thinking he couldn’t compete with great players in a big school. That changed at the first practice. Wooden said, “Don’t worry about whether you’re doing better than the next guy. Just give me your best.” Rafer wrote: “My subsequent performance in the 1960 Olympics…. had a lot to do with Coach’s philosophy…. Don’t worry about…. winning the race. Just focus on running the race that’s right in front of you.”^[1]

            Dr. Penny Werthner conducted a study to identify why some athletes did so well, finding the most important theme was the relationship between coach and athlete. Coach Xiuli Wang, former Olympic speed skater for China who has since coached Canadian athletes, described how she guided Clara Hughes to gold: “She was very fit and she had lots of sport experience…but she was changing sports. She needed help with skating technically well…. I was straight with her. I told her the truth, and I got on the ice with her to show her how.”^[2]

            Notice those three phrases: “I was straight with her…I told her the truth…I got on the ice with her.” That’s the secret to excellence in coaching, and what the Lord does with us. God plays many roles in our Christian life. Have you thought of Him as your Coach, helping you navigate ups and downs?

            First, He’s straight with us. He watches us run the race of life, wrestle with conflict, swing and miss, or give up. Sometimes we don’t know what’s wrong, but Coach always identifies the problem. Jonah became sulking, angry, and depressed but didn’t know the root of his problem. The Lord was straight with him, saying, “You don’t care about the people of Nineveh…. You care more about the vine over your head than about the eternal destinies of the multitudes in this city.” (See Jonah 4:7-11.) We must listen to the Coach when He shoots straight with us. While reading and meditating on the Word, we should apply the truths to ourselves. When experiencing failure, we must listen to God’s voice of correction. The Bible describes our Christian experience as a “work out” (Philippians 2:12), and our Coach helps us by being straight with us.

            Second, He tells us the truth. He’s the only infallible Coach in history, and we can depend on every word of advice and encouragement. When Paul was aboard a sinking ship, everyone had lost hope of being saved. But Coach gave Paul a word of truth: “Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.” Those words so encouraged Paul that he led his team to victory, saying, “Take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me” (Acts 27:24-25).

            Third: Good coaches don’t stay on the sidelines. They get on the field, the ice, the hardwood. That’s what our Coach did. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory” (John 1:14). To demonstrate a winning life, God entered humanity and showed us how to play the game. Jesus sent His Spirit to live within us, and the secret to victory is allowing Him to work in and through us with all His strength. Paul said, “To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me” (Colossians 1:29, NIV).

Vince Lombardi said: “Coaches who can outline plays on a blackboard are a dime a dozen. The ones who win get inside their players and motivate.” That’s what God does, giving us direction, empowerment, renewed energy, and strength to thrive. He shoots straight with you, tells you the truth, and gets on the ice with you, in victory or defeat. Focus on running the race before you, looking unto the best Life Coach in the world, the Lord Jesus Christ.

David Jeremiah is the senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church and the founder and host of Turning Point for God. For more information about Dr. Jeremiah or Turning Point, visit www.DavidJeremiah.org.