5 Assumptions About God And Why They Are WrongSample

Coached by God

Assumption: God is waiting for me to mess up

It had been a tough baseball practice. Finally, exhausted and exasperated after almost two hours of throwing pitch after pitch only to be told I wasn’t doing it right, I stopped and looked at the coach with fire in my eyes. “Why are you being such a jerk to me? I’m trying my best” I said in exasperation. I’ll never forget my coach’s response: “I’m not trying to be a jerk. I actually see potential in your pitching ability. I’m trying to get that potential out of you.”

Imagine we are on a team coached by God. He is not waiting for us to mess up nor is he messing with us. He has a wonderful vision for us. He sees in us the potential to be a stronger person, and he works through our trials to bring about complete maturity in us, enabling us to do what he’s called us to do.

Instead of becoming angry at God, remember he is our life coach. He knows us better than anyone else, and he loves us. He sees our potential and he works with us, preparing us for success, to meet the trials ahead of us in the arena of life. God asks us to trust him, to call upon him for wisdom and strength. He asks us to persevere, to spiritually endure (2 Timothy 2:3-7). He wants us to feel secure enough in his love and wisdom, so that we will trust his heart and follow him.

Jesus obeyed the Father throughout his life and ministry. He faced hardships and he persevered in obedience. He called for wisdom and strength from his Father in Heaven. He trusted the Father even to the point of death and God raised Jesus from the dead, validating the power and effectiveness of his sacrificial death that takes away the sin of the world. Hebrew 5:7-10 says of Jesus that he learned obedience by the things he suffered. In other words, Jesus learned how to trust God, his life coach. He endured the suffering to complete his life-saving task through obeying the wise and loving Father. Jesus learned the value and the outcomes of obedience. Because of Jesus’ obedience, we can experience God’s forgiveness and salvation.