God's Coaching #309

God's Coaching #309

Sarah Glidden hears a lot of deer jokes. Are you going to compete in blaze orange? Will you go hunting with me? You’re a real deer magnet! When are they going to put those deer-crossing signs on the course?

Sarah doesn’t mind. She can laugh about the whole event—the one when a deer ran into her during a 2010 Wisconsin cross-country sectional meet. The high school sophomore was only about a hundred meters from the finish line when a deer bolted out of the woods, onto the racecourse, and smacked her. The startled runner could feel fur against her legs and a hoof against her shin. She was spun around but not badly hurt. However, she did lose valuable seconds.

The only chance at reaching the state meet was to finish in the top five. Sarah was already trailing the leaders, and she ended up finishing 18th. Did the deer encounter cost her a shot at state? It’s hard to say, but Sarah kept a positive attitude anyway, talking with reporters and joking with friends.

What’s the Score?

Sometimes life’s problems blindside us. We can be cruising along just fine when Thwack! trouble hits our lives, kind of like a deer on a racecourse. Maybe it’s a mean comment from a good friend, a bad grade, or the illness or death of a loved one. Sadly, we all experience bad or painful experiences as we live in this world.

The good news is that Jesus promised to be with us through every tough and awful situation we face. He promised his peace to help and comfort us—no matter how bad the problem. Jesus said, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). He overcame our world and all the worst it can offer. One day, with his help, we will overcome too!

On the Ball

What’s your biggest problem right now? Talk to God about it. Ask what you can learn from it and how you can overcome it.

Coach’s Comment

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. John 16:33