FCA: The Undefeated Devotional For CompetitorsНамуна

Taking My Ball…
By Sarah Roberts

READY:
“He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will not be shaken” – Psalm 62:6

SET:
Pick-up games at neighborhood basketball courts and sandlots are familiar scenes in the world of sports. And whether you’ve played in these games or watched them, you’ve probably noticed that there’s usually one kid who gets mad, takes his or her ball and goes home. He thought he was safe. She thought she was fouled. Things weren’t going in their favor so they just didn’t want to play anymore. Sound familiar? It should. We do it all the time…with God.

We pray, and God doesn’t answer like we wanted, so we decide not to pray anymore. We get injured playing our sport, and we think God isn’t looking out for us, so we don’t read the Bible anymore. Teammates said hurtful things about us, so we don’t go to church anymore.

In these cases and others like them, we end up trying to handle things by ourselves. We wind up feeling alone. And we take our ball and go home.
Doing life with Jesus doesn’t mean the end of problems. It means the end of facing problems alone. When Jesus is on our team it doesn’t mean the absence of pain, but the presence of peace. Jesus said in John 16:33, “I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”

GO:
1. Name a time you wanted to quit your sport or a game because things weren’t going your way?
2. When was a time you felt God wasn’t listening to you or working for you?
3. It’s time to get back into the game. Write a prayer to God telling Him your thoughts, feelings and struggles.

WORKOUT:
Deuteronomy 31:8
Galatians 6:9
Hebrews 12:2-3

OVERTIME:
Lord, help me stay focused on You. Give me strength in the struggle, hope when I feel hopeless, truth when it’s hard to trust. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.