Champions Are Made in the Off Season

Photo by Flickr user  See-ming Lee 李思明 SML

One of my favorite quotations is the title of this blog, "Champions are made in the off season." This statement is loaded with truth. When others are relaxing, the future champion knows that the gift of time is his or her opportunity to prepare, to plan, to dream, and to focus. It is the window where they can work to improve and perfect their skills, hone their disciplines, and intensify their determination. 

Moses is quoted in Psalm 90:12 as saying, "Lord, teach us to number our days that we might gain a heart of wisdom." When we come to grips with the truth that life is short, that our opportunities are limited, and that life is not a dress rehearsal, we can calmly conclude that we must focus on what is of utmost importance. In general terms it means living out the will of God. But specifically it means doing what God wants when He wants it.

So, you find yourself in an off season and you are not sure how to prepare for your next arena. What then? What do you do when you don't know what to do? Here are a few suggestions.

1. Realize that you have a gift of time. You can decide to waste it or invest it. Make the determined decision to invest your time wisely. What can you do with your time that will prepare you for where you would like to be if the right door opens? Your discretionary time may only be a few hours a day. What will you do with it?

2.   Knowing your experiences, your passions, your skills, your giftedness, your maturity level, and your dreams, what do you want to accomplish? If that opportunity suddenly materialized, what knowledge, disciplines, and skills would you be required to possess? Start working today to acquire what you need. The only one stopping you is you.

3. Write down what you believe you should be doing. In different terminology, write out what you believe may be God's will for your life. This will provide you a target. It will help you focus on where to invest your time. Looking every day at what you have written will assist you to stay on point.

4. If it is God's will you want to know, then set aside time daily to read His Word. Much of what God wants for your life is found in Scripture. You will not know what it is, if you do not take time to read it. I also suggest that you ask the Lord, "What is it you want for my life?" How often are we guilty of living out the biblical truth, "You have not because you ask not?"

5. Start sharpening your skills and gaining the knowledge you think you will need now. Do you need to return to school? Do you need to read a certain amount of books? What is it that will prepare you for what you want to do? Take the initiative to prepare yourself. Get started now. Anticipate that when you are ready, God will open the door.

I am wrapping up reading through the Pentateuch (the first five books in the Bible). One of the central figures is Moses. God had a great task for him to accomplish. For 40 years God prepared him by his mundane work as a shepherd. Little did he realize that what he probably perceived as a "wasted" life (40 years in the wilderness) was actually God's preparation. His formal education in Egypt was critical, but his practical education in the wilderness was just as important. When God was ready to use him, he was ready to be used, even though he had insecurities.

Let me encourage you to prepare yourself as if you are being groomed for a world-class challenge. Then trust God to open the door at the right time and in the right place. Live each day with the expectation that this might be the day that God's great opportunity presents itself. Make sure that you have prepared yourself in the off season to be a champion!

Observations on the Ways of God

Exodus 39-40 are the concluding chapters of the Exodus story. These chapters detail the completion of Moses's constructing, furnishing, and erecting the wilderness Tabernacle of God. At first glance, it seems simply to recount the retelling of the tedious steps taken by the artisans, Bezalel, Oholiab, and their skilled associates about whom Scripture describes as those "He (God) filled...with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding and in knowledge and in all craftsmanship" (Exodus 35:31).

Upon closer examination, however, I notice in these two concluding chapters a recurring theme, even a refrain. Seventeen times in these two chapters we read that the workmen did "just as The Lord had commanded Moses." God had said to Moses on the mountain, "This is what I want." Moses had communicated the instructions to the leadership of his craftsmen and they replicated precisely what God dictated. Finally, in Exodus 40:33, Scripture tells us "Thus, Moses finished the work." He and his people had fully obeyed God. With great consistency, they had obeyed God's word. 

I see an interesting aftermath. First, we read that when the obedience was complete, God's glory appeared. Exodus 40:34 tells us, "Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." It is not that God had not been present, but now God's manifest presence was demonstrated. God was there and everybody knew it. Second, when the glory appeared, God's leading was clear. God's glory in and over the tabernacle, whether a cloud by day or the fire by night, dictated if it was time to stay put or move forward. The concluding verse of Exodus tells us, "For throughout all their journeys, the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel" (Exodus40:38).

So, what can we learn from these concluding chapters that applies to God's people today? Here are three lessons.

1. It is God who raises up skilled workers to lead His people and build His work. In fact, it is God Himself who provides wisdom and skill in all ways to accomplish His will and work.
2. God expects nothing less than complete obedience to what He has communicated. Churches and members too often miss God because they do not do as God has commanded. Moreover, incomplete obedience is simple disobedience. If we persist in disobedience, we ought not expect God's blessing. No wonder churches and Christians find themselves in so much unnecessary turmoil.
3. When our obedience is complete and God manifests His presence, we can confidently expect God to lead. Of course, this brings us to the next insight with respect to God's ways--will we follow when God leads? The house of Israel learned a painful lesson when they balked at God's leading. That's a story for another time.

A Letter to my Grandson, Henry Thomas Arbo, on the Occasion of his First Birthday

Henry, 

Today marks your first birthday. It is hard to believe that you have been in the family for 12 full months. I remember sitting at the kitchen table in your home in Parkville, Missouri when your mom announced that you were on the way. That was a special day. Your mom had a difficult pregnancy. She was sick with nausea almost every day up to the day of your arrival. She was quite the trooper.

I remember the first moment I laid my eyes on you. Your dad had you swaddled and he brought you to the doorway of the delivery room there at St.Luke's Hospital. From that moment forward you had your grandaddy wrapped around your little finger. 

You were born on April 1st which is technically the opening day of Major League Baseball. My favorite team is the Yankees and I have decided that their first game of the season played tonight will be in your honor.

You have been blessed with a rich heritage. Your dad is a brilliant and godly man with a tremendous work ethic. I admire his tenacity and willingness to dream big. The fact that he completed both a Masters and Doctorate at The University of Edinburgh still causes me to smile. He is fun and passionate about what he believes, is an outstanding professor with a tremendous future, and is passionately in love with your mom. What else could I ask for?

Your mom is our first born child. She was and is special in every way. She was always smart, goal driven, and full of energy. She is beautiful on the outside as well as the inside. Over the years she has been on multiple occasions a source of tremendous pride to your grandmother (Mimi) and myself. She means more to us than life itself. We were blessed with two wonderful daughters. I have said all of this to make a point. You have a tremendous root system of love and support. 

You have a unique personality that is all you. You are sweet, kind, loving, very smart, and strong-willed. We love seeing that twinkle in your eye. My prayer, and perhaps I should say our prayer for you, is that you grow to become everything God intended when He first created you inside your mom's tummy. You have tremendous gifts that we hope you will cultivate and develop, and use for the good of God and humanity. I want to challenge you to be diligent in your pursuit of God, character, wisdom and knowledge.

It has been a joy-filled year watching you grow and develop. Your first time to roll over, sit up, crawl, and walk (even though you still have to hold on), and eat at the table have been sources of joy and blessing to all of us. Mimi and I feel blessed to have been close to you this first year of your life.

In conclusion, I simply want you to know that you are loved incredibly and we will do everything possible by the grace of God to help you become the man God wants you to become. We are so very proud of you!

With much love and gratitude to God, 

Your Grandaddy

Dr. Jerry Sutton