(Oops, wrote this a couple of weeks ago but forgot to post it!)
With college football ramping up into some
feverishly-competitive match-ups this weekend, it’s hard to ignore the hype,
even if you’re not one of those who ‘Love Purple
Live Gold,’
‘Roll Tide,’ or even ‘Sic ‘Em, Bears!’ Each of these teams – and many
more – are working hard to prepare a game plan that will outwit, outsmart, and
outscore its competition. But even with the best laid plans, on any given
night, it’s anybody’s ball game. Yep, even the underdog can upset the favorite
and wreak havoc on the BCS standings.
So, who
really has the advantage? If everyone knows the underdog is capable of an
upset, how does a team maximize its preparation? While listening to some ESPN
Game Day interviews last Saturday, I heard the previously-unbeaten Miami
Hurricanes coach address the issue of playing still-unbeaten Florida State in
Tallahassee in the loud and intimidating Doak-Campbell Stadium. Al Golden said
he wasn’t worried about facing the Seminoles with their home field advantage (what
he called “the trappings”), Instead, he surmised, “It all comes down to execution, two acres,
and a ball.”
Thanks, Al,
for reminding me that it’s not so much WHERE I’m pursuing my God-calling as it
is HOW. How well am I executing the plan I’ve been taught and have practiced, wherever I am? Sure the ‘stadium’ and
‘fans’ (or lack thereof) can impact my performance but neither of these trappings
should be the deciding factor in the consistency of my obedience.
Well, as we
know, it didn’t turn out so well for the Hurricanes; FSU blew them away with a
final score of 41-14. But neither team knew what the outcome would be when they
started. Thus, the players hit the field with the expectation that, because of
intense preparation on both sides of the ball, their efforts would pay off. May
you too have a game plan of obedience that focuses not on the WHERE but on the
HOW so that you can faithfully execute the call of God on your life both now
and in the future. And THAT’s worth cheering for!
