Fruit of the Spirit Sports Devotional Muestra

Leader's Guide Lesson 5: Patience

Theme: 

Patience is impossible without God, and with God, is not only possible but highly beneficial.

Coaches' Notes:

This study is primarily for players, but let’s talk coaches for a minute. Is there any fruit of the Spirit that is harder to apply for coaches than patience (maybe self-control—the two tend to be related). If we did a coaches’ self-assessment, how would we answer these questions:

1. Is your first reaction to a player not doing what they’re supposed to do, calmly teaching them, or impatiently yelling at them?

2. Do you argue most close calls by umpires or refs that go against your team, or is it an isolated incident when you discuss or argue a call?

3. When a parent confronts you in a text or email about his or her kid’s playing time, and gets a little personal towards you, do you take the high road and patiently respond with humility, or do you more likely respond in like?

I hope you scored better than I did. I have matured a lot over the years, but I still at times yell at my players too much. While I’ve matured to the point of never arguing balls and strikes, I often feel the urge to teach the umpire the rules (especially when the call hurts my team). I have great relationships with almost all my parents, but I’ve sent a responsive and impulsive email or two (or three or four) over the years that I’ve regretted.

I think there are two points for us as coaches. First, even with the Spirit living inside of us, we’re going to fall short sometimes. Can you imagine how impossible patience is for those who don’t have God inside of them? We have to be intentional and work hard at being patient, seeking God’s constant guidance and strength, and honestly self-assessing where we fall short.

Which brings me to a second point for us as coaches. When you fall short, apologize to your team. I do it often. Your players will appreciate it. They will also see you modeling humility and know that you are working hard on being patient (and they should too).

Discussion Questions:

1.) You might want to begin with listing some ways or examples in which you have been impatient as a coach. Apologize for them. Then ask players to list some ways in which they or players in general can be impatient.

2.) How does impatience show a lack of trusting God? Why is being patient more in line with trusting God? (see 1 Peter 3.9)

Discussion:

Have you ever had to wait for something you really wanted? Patience is hard, but it’s really important. That’s why the saying “patience is a virtue” has lasted centuries. A virtue is a behavior showing high moral standards. This means those who are able to be patient stand out and show behavior different from others.

We need God’s help to be patient, for He is patient (1 Peter 3.9). Trusting God is not just trusting that His ways are better than ours, although that’s part of it. It’s also trusting God’s timing. We’re not trusting God if we trust His plan but insist on our timing. To fully submit, we must trust God with His plan in His timing. If we don’t, we’re not really trusting, and we’re being impatient.

It’s not just wise to be patient, but also beneficial. Trusting God for His plan and His timing takes the pressure off of us. We don’t have to worry about what’s going to happen, when it’s going to happen, and even whether it’s going to happen. Instead, we trust that the God of the universe knows what’s best, and what He has planned will happen in His timing. What a relief for us! Also, good things come to those who wait. In my experience many, if not most, of the best blessings I have received from God required me to wait. This has always proved true for the big things in my life.

 I’ve received many of these blessings over the years, but none more cherished than a gift I and my family received a couple of years ago. We became licensed as a foster family in 2016. We received a foster baby in our home, and immediately fell in love with him. We loved him as our own, and desperately wanted to adopt him. We kept him, took care of him, and waited. And waited. And waited. Court hearing after court hearing. Month after month. Year after year. We trusted God patiently. It was very hard, but we knew God had a perfect plan for his child and that the pressure on us was too much from ourselves. We waited over a year and a half for God’s timing.

What happened? In November of 2017, we finally were able to adopt him. Today, he’s our third child. God’s plan and timing were perfect, and every day reminds our family of the importance and blessing of patience.