God's Coaching #8

God's Coaching #8

Hours before the 2009 BCS National Championship game, Florida Gators coaches had a problem: they couldn’t find a bunch of their players. As the Florida coaches began to get worried and angry, they walked past star quarterback Tim Tebow’s hotel room and heard something strange—singing.

Tim, who was born in the Philippines to a missionary family, was never shy about sharing his faith in Jesus Christ. He wore Bible verses on his eye black during college football games and always gave credit to God for his performances. Just hours before the biggest football game of his life, Tim had been reading his Bible and found a passage that he wanted to share with his teammates. He called about 15 players to his room, where he read them Matthew 11:28-29: “Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.’” Soon the room came alive with the players singing praises to God.

What’s the Score?

The Florida Gators went on to win the national championship 24–14 over the Oklahoma Sooners. With the game tied 14–14 to begin the fourth quarter, Tim led the Gators on two scoring drives. First, Florida kicked a field goal with less than 11 minutes to play. Then with 3:07 left in the game, Tim threw a four-yard touchdown pass to David Nelson that wrapped up the victory. Tim ended with 231 passing yards, including two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for 109 yards.

Tim had an incredible amount of pressure on him to win the national championship. Instead of letting his nerves get the better of him, he gave his worries to God. Through years of trusting God and learning his Word, Tim knew God was big enough to handle anything that happened to him. By trusting in God’s peace, Tim was able to come through with big plays during extremely stressful times.

On the Ball

What makes you worry? Is it schoolwork? tests? doing chores? a big game? Everybody runs into stressful situations. When you’re feeling overwhelmed, be sure to turn to God. He has the strength and can give you the peace to make it through anything.

Coach’s Comment

Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29