15 Jul
Putting The ‘Pig’ In Pigskin
The anxious crowd rose to their feet in hushed anticipation. The perfectly spiraled football soared over the field in a majestic arch. A titanic duel between rival teams had come down to an epic finish. Trailing by one, mere seconds to play, our quarterback had heroically marched his soldiers down field with pin-point precision and clutch execution. Staring at the end zone and an improbable win, it was all-or-nothing time…It was Daniel time…
The church college ministries from my city annually rent the professional football stadium and battle for the prestigious spray-painted golden football. The only problem is that, well, I’ll never be mistaken for Tom Brady. Football was not my sport as a child, and my body has failed to maintain its gazelle-like agility since then; having been quickly replaced by twenty “college-pounds.”
The day before the tournament, my brother offered to toss the old pigskin around for practice. I kindly thanked him but informed him I would prepare mentally instead, then proceeded to plop myself down, jumbo bag of stale Cheetos in hand to play Madden 08 on my Xbox.
The next morning I arrived at the field- my face covered in Akkadian warrior battle paint. The eyes of the opposition went wide. I sniffed the air…it reeked with the stench of fear…
Pre-game warm-ups began, but I elected to stay on the bench and guard the half-time snacks. A friend offered me a water bottle, just as two fan-girls skipped by. With a grunt I snatched it…and chucked it into the bleachers, “water is for the weak…”
We dominated game one. Our quarterback made perfect throws, our receivers made routine catches…I ran around aimlessly spouting off annoying trash-talk…
Game two followed the same game plan, but we fell behind. The opposition had opted to use double coverage elsewhere, foolishly leaving me unchecked, apparently realizing that in two games my quarterback had avoided me like the black plague. But on the last play, game on the line, the unthinkable happened…the ball was thrown to me…
Well actually it was thrown to Rob, but due to a combination of overthrowing and Rob tripping, the ball came sailing towards me. Unsure what to do, I went airborne, extended my hand…and…SNAP!
One sprained finger and fumble later the game was over….there’s always next game right?
Christians sometimes make the same mistake in their walk with God. They let their relationship with Him play second string while things are going well, but attempting to make it right again when a trial hits.
My pastor once said, “Crisis is not the time to be mending a relationship with God, it’s the time to already have one in place.” Unfortunately, I know for me this is not always the case. I am often too busy or preoccupied to say more than a rushed prayer, and I commit to just read ‘twice-as-much’ of my Bible tomorrow morning when I don’t have time today.
A crisis could be just around the corner. It will be game day again soon. Are you adequately prepared? Will your life make a difference? Will you be victorious?
But I discipline my body and bring it under subjection, lest when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. 1 Cor. 9:27
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Filed in: Crisis, Discipleship
About the Author
Daniel Blackaby is a junior in college, living in Simpsonville, SC. His biggest passions in life are music and literature. He plays guitar in a Christian rock band and also plays bass guitar, drums, and keyboard.
Apart from playing music, Daniel loves to listen to all types of music and has over 700 CDs on his iTunes. He admits he’s a huge nerd who loves to read and enjoys collecting classic literature. He loves to hang out and have a good time, but his primary goal is to try and live life to the fullest and glorify God in everything he does. You can contact him by email at boonster11@hotmail.com.
Read more about Daniel here.
