My dad loved to engage God daily. He was a passionate man who loved to challenge people to have a daily quiet time. Even though he passed away last year after a long fight with leukemia, his passion impacted thousands. He was the kind of guy who, if he met you for the first time and had just one minute with you to communicate one thing, he would address your personal quiet time. It was a passion that overflowed from him because it was such an essential part of his life.

In more than two decades of marriage, University of Georgia Head Football Coach Mark Richt and his wife, Katharyn, have learned valuable lessons about three very popular things in FCA: faith, family and football. Today, we’re continuing our four-part video devotion series based on the Richts’ recent interview with FCA’s Sharing the Victory magazine.

To access the video, click the link below to watch or download the clip. After you’ve watched the short video, take time to answer the questions below. Finish by reading the related Scripture and asking God to work in your heart as a result of what you’ve learned.

VIDEO LINK:

It’s hard to simplify life. Narrowing the focus seems impossible. Over this past year, you may have been asked hundreds of times, “How is it going?” Your response was probably something like, “I have been SO busy!” You never hear someone say, “I’ve had so much time on my hands, and I’m looking for something new to do.” That person doesn’t exist.

There are times in coaching when we doubt our abilities to handle a specific match, tournament, or season. Doubt can come up from behind and tackle us after a string of bad games or hit us as after a single loss. We have seen potential in our players and ourselves, but we are unable to explain why the season is going the way it is. This is particularly difficult when we have a strong and personal relationship with our players. We begin to question our abilities to coach and lead our teams. Once we get to this point of self-doubt, it is hard to climb out, and that is exactly where God wants to get us so we will have faith in him rather than in ourselves.

We coaches spend a great deal of time and energy trying to instill confidence in our athletes. Hopefully our efforts are effective not only in competition but also in every area of our players’ lives. False confidence, the sort that stems from reliance on ourselves or our circumstances, is quite common in sports because it so easily comes with much flexing of muscles. Quiet confidence, on the other hand, is the opposite of surety that is built on physical strength. Quiet confidence comes only through faith in God, and it results in an assurance that we can handle whatever we face. How often do we conduct team practice with a quiet confidence?

Have you ever disagreed with your coach’s game strategy or played with a teammate with whom you didn’t see eye to eye? Have you ever competed against an opponent who made you really angry? As athletes, we come into contact with a lot of people: coaches, teammates, opponents, referees, and fans; and we’re not always going to agree with them.

Most of the time when I was involved in sports, I had very few people rooting for me in the stands. Yet, when my family could come to watch me, I was very keenly aware of where they were at in the stands. I remember one particular high school track meet near Cincinnati. My parents were there watching, my brother and sisters were present, and many of my classmates were there, so I wanted to do my very best.

In the Old Testament, we read that King David was involved in bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. As he was doing so, he became caught up in the moment. Before they had taken more than a half dozen steps, David halted the procession to offer a sacrifice to God. He literally rejoiced at every step.

Last year, the youth football team I coach won the championship in double overtime, and this Saturday, as the new season starts, we will begin the quest of defending our title. We have essentially the same players we had last year, only this year, we have the confidence behind us to believe that anything is possible if we do three things: think we are talented, athletic, smart and victorious; give 100 percent of our effort in everything we do; and believe in our hearts that God will be with us.

As we gear up to defend the title, I’m reminded that my job as a coach is not to be satisfied with producing a winning record, but with producing winning athletes. To accomplish that goal this season, I will be asking my players six questions:

What’s worse: getting beat by your opponent because they’re better than you or getting beat because of strife within your own team? The worst teams I’ve been part of as an athlete or coach were those with internal problems. Preparing for an opponent is tough enough, but trying to “right the ship” from within is a different animal. In the Old Testament, as Nehemiah and his crew rebuilt the wall, they were oppressed by outside forces. They struggled financially and started to fight, creating dissension. Finally Nehemiah had enough. He put his foot down and held an “all team” meeting. I’m sure he did most of the talking.