I read an article after the Iron Bowl that really got me to thinking. It was about how Auburn had come from behind against The Tide and seemingly insurmountable odds due in large part to the efforts on one play by one man. Auburn DE Antoine Carter ran down Mark Ingram and stripped the ball from him just yards before he got to the end zone and extended the Alabama lead even more. The article talks about the fact that a 256lb DE cannot run down the reigning Heisman Trophy winner. Especially not after rushing the quarterback and starting behind the line of scrimmage. He did though.
The author talked about the fact that Carter simply did what he had been coached to do his whole career. He has probably been playing football since he was a little guy and if you have ever played football you know that one of the first things you learn is to play until the whistle blows. His current defensive coordinator, Ted Roof says that you never know what is going to happen. "The guy could stumble. The ball could get tipped. The ball could be fumbled." After the game Cater said about the play, "Even when you can't get there, just keep running." This is a great life lesson.
Sometimes it is hard to understand what God is doing. Often God tells us to do things in his word or speaks to our hearts and it makes no sense. We think we can't get there or it is impossible or what he says seems so opposite of what we want to do. I have had coaches that at the time I would have questioned whether they were trying to kill me or if they were a bit nuts. In hind site though I can usually see what they were doing and why they were doing it. Our job is to give our best in every drill, to execute the game plan the best we can. We need to be faithful to what he has called us to, no matter what it looks like. No matter how far out of reach a victory seems.
If you think that your current situation has no hope or your boss will never notice you or your kids are beyond help (feel free to insert your situation here) I would urge you to think again. God says that it is our job to trust Him and just keep running. To be faithful until the end of the play. We can't control what others do, but we can control our hearts and our efforts.
Antoine Carter chose to keep running and in doing so saved the game for Auburn. Maybe you need to choose to keep praying, to keep showing up, to keep loving or to keep trusting and in doing so you may just save the game for your kid or your wife or yourself. I don't know what it is for you, but I can promise that the God who made you sees you and loves you. He knows what is best for you moment by moment and HE CAN BE TRUSTED. His heart and intentions toward you are good. You nay not always get there to save the day or recover the ball, even then (or especially then) we simply must continue to trust him.
My favorite line in the article is when the author says that because of Carter's faithfulness to do what his coaches had taught him to do and had instilled in Him, "A sure 28-0 deficit turned into hope." I pray that God will give all of us the ability to trust him and that through that he will turn your deficit into hope.
Blessings...
Proverbs 3:5-12 (The Message)
5-12 Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track.
Don't assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over. But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline;
don't sulk under his loving correction. It's the child he loves that God corrects; a father's delight is behind all this.
This is a link to the article if you would like to read it:http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/andy_staples/11/26/iron.bowl/index.html
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