LESSON 10: STICK-TO-ITIVENESS

Ready

“I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).

Set

Plano Senior High School is one of the largest high schools in Texas, with thousands of students, all made up of juniors and seniors. Going into my junior year—the first year we could play varsity sports—I looked to earn a starting spot on varsity playing second base. The fall workouts in large part determined who made varsity.

On this particular day, we were doing fielding drills. During a water break, I noticed a legal pad with writing on it. It looked like a depth chart. A baseball diamond was drawn on the page, with numbered lists of players at each position.

I shouldn’t have looked at the chart, and I cannot imagine how far and long I would have run had a coach seen me looking at it. At the same time, I couldn’t take my eyes off the page. My eyes quickly became affixed on the list of players at second base, which was the available position for a middle infielder.

I wasn’t first on the list. No big deal—it was October, and the season wouldn’t start for four months.

I wasn’t second on the list, either. Nor was I third.

I was fourth. The fourth second baseman on the depth chart. Were there even four second basemen trying out?

The season was a few months away. I’d worked hard all summer and had played well as a freshman and sophomore at a feeder high school. And yet I was sitting at number four on the second basemen depth chart. However, by the start of the 1988 season, I was starting at second base. By the end of the season, I was all-district first team and all-area second team.

What made the difference? Stick-to-itiveness.

Those who stay the course, stick with it, work hard, and push through in the face of adversity and struggles have the best chance of succeeding. Even more, those who rely on Christ, follow his plans and pursue him each day are guaranteed success.

Following Christ allowed Paul to say, at the end of his life, “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). Paul also wrote, “One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13–14).

When we press on, when we keep the faith despite obstacles, we’re exhibiting sticktoitiveness. The obstacles and struggles aren’t entirely within our control. How we respond to them is.

Go

1. Are obstacles in sports and life controllable? What is controllable about facing obstacles and dealing with struggles?
2. How does stick-to-itiveness separate us from other players? Why is it so important to exhibit this trait in sports and in life?
3. Read Philippians 3:13–14 again. Have you ever heard athletes must have a short-term memory? What does this mean? Does Paul speak to this in these verses? How does the term “press on” speak to sticktoitiveness?