The wide receiver is always the recipient of the long-bomb. He must get behind his opponent to get free enough to be in position to catch the pass when the Quarterback throws it. Then he must catch the pass. If he does, it’s a great move forward for the team.
Our Quarterback frequently throws us passes that are missed, dropped or intercepted, simply because we were not listening in the huddle, or not paying attention on the field.
Listening in the huddle is absolutely vital, not just for the wide receiver, but for the whole team. If one member misses his assignment or misses the count, the whole team suffers. When we don’t take the time to pray each morning and each time we enter a situation where the Holy Spirit is needed, then the whole Kingdom of God suffers for our missed assignment.
Praying must not only include petitioning prayer but listening prayer. If in my whole life I can only motivate you to do one thing, I pray that one thing would be to listen to God in prayer – even when He is not speaking. Things happen in prayer that are far beyond our ability to understand. “Be still and know that I am God.”
After the huddle we can walk out confidently. If we haven’t heard specific instructions then we can know that we are in God’s will and can continue on the way we are going. That is not always downfield. Sometimes when a quarterback is in trouble, the wide receivers will break-off pattern and double back toward the line of scrimmage to make an easier target for a pass. While they would appear to going in the wrong direction, they may yet save the day – no long-bomb, but perhaps a first down.
Sometimes, I think it is necessary for us to go into what we might perceive as negative territory in order to undo some problem from our past. That God allowed me to suffer a deep depression, then, as I was beginning to come out of it, I relapsed into a far worse case of depression, anxiety and social phobia. I had still not dealt with my pride, not had I repented of my lack of faith, though God was giving me every opportunity.
My lack of faith boiled down to idol worship. My faith was in money and when we had money problems, my anxiety increased exponentially. I had more faith in mammon than in God. When you have lived at various times in great poverty, it is hard to put your faith in God rather than money, even though I tested Him and He was always faithful when I did. But God will not be faithful when you are worshipping a false idol. Repentance is the only solution here, and you can be sure your repentant heart will be tested.
Pride is more insidious. It is not just the self-image of the exceptional public servant that plagued me, but there was also an image of the exceptional Christian. I wanted to be seen and known as a man of God. I still do. That’s not so bad on the one hand because we should all want to be a man or woman of God. My problem was that I wanted to be seen as such. That’s pride. From a loveless childhood of abandonment and abuse, I developed a need to be wanted and to be admired.
It has been a struggle for me to accept that God wanted me so much that He sent His Son to suffer and die for me. Understanding love when you grew up without it does not come easily. But it boils down to trusting God. Lord, help me my unbelief. Help me to receive the love that You threw to me in the end zone when Jesus died and rose again. It was no Hail Mary pass, but a pin-point accurate bomb right into my numbers.
Lord, I have trusted you many times before and You have often amazed me with your responses. Help me to trust You totally and completely with everything in my life, with all that I have, all that I will be, and with whatever may come both in this life and in Eternity.
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