A young man made the game-winning shot in his high school basketball game with 5 seconds left on the clock. His heart pounded with excitement as he saw the ball swoosh through the net. But his excitement turned to confusion, when instead of cheers, he heard the angry jeers of his team echo on the court. He soon realized that his winning shot had been scored in the wrong basket and he had just won the game for the other team! What could have been his most memorable moment, quickly turned into his most embarrassing moment. You can imagine the anguish this young athlete felt as he looked over at his coach and watched as his leader hung his head in disappointment.

Many times, we as Christians, get overwhelmed by “the Game�. Our lives become busy with the daily routine. We get caught up in our work and concentrate on meeting deadlines or appointments. Our agendas become full, and pretty soon we are relying on our own strength to get us through the game. We end up letting our team (our family) down, and our coach (God) patiently waits to see when we will turn to Him for guidance. As we continue on this path, we find ourselves becoming short-tempered with our children or spouse. Our time is limited to our own needs, and in a manner of speaking, we end up scoring for the other team. We avoid taking a moment to look to “the Coach�, for fear that we will find God hanging his head in disappointment.

But God is a loving Coach, who is waiting for us to come to Him and say, “Lord, guide me!� He wants to show us the game plan and help us succeed. Don’t allow yourself to become overwhelmed by the busyness of life’s game. Take a moment to take direction from the Head Coach and see all the blessing God has in store for you. Take a minute to look to your family team for encouragement and when you are shooting the winning shot, you’ll be sure it’s for God’s team!

Suggested Prayer:

Dear Lord, thank you for your patience with me. I can become so wrapped up in myself and my projects, feeling proud as I do everything in my own strength. Suddenly, I find that my error was not looking to you for guidance and I end up letting down those closest to me. Help me to look to you and rely on your strength to be my guide. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

1. Psalm 121:1.