I had to make a tough decision in my senior year of high school. Coming out of basketball season, I had to decide between playing baseball or running track. My junior year, I had played baseball because we didn't have enough boys to fill a track team. My senior year, however, presented a dilemma. If I ran track, there would be just enough to have team. If I didn't, there wouldn't be a track team that year. When I approached my baseball coach about it, he told me that I would never do anything in track and that his baseball team would probably be going to the state finals. My decision was simple after that. I chose track.

Depending on to whom you’re talking at the time, conversations about the King will likely invoke numerous topics. When it comes to rock and roll, there’s no doubt that immortalized crooner Elvis Presley fits the bill. Then you have the King of Pop, a nickname commonly given to iconic entertainer Michael Jackson.

History has also provided us with numerous real-life kings, including such notable biblical leaders as King David and King Solomon and such well-known English rulers as King James I (known for his commissioning of the King James Version of the Bible) and King Henry VIII (infamously known for his many wives).

But within the world of sports, only one image comes to mind when that nickname is uttered: NASCAR legend Richard Petty.

I remember playing football on the playground as an 8 year old. When I was quarterback, I only had one play—the “Hail Mary.” I would tell everyone, “Go long!” My friends would try to tell me they were open short, but I wouldn’t hear them. I wanted to go long on every play. Of course, going long back then was about 10 yards, maybe 15 if you had a good arm like mine. I would drop back to pass, fling the football as far as I could, and hope one of my teammates would come down with it. I thought any play that didn’t result in a touchdown was a failure. I didn’t care about field position or time of possession; I just wanted to score as fast as possible. Obviously, that wasn’t the best strategy for success.

My youngest daughter and I recently ventured out on a three-day backpacking trip. Our biggest concern was finding water on our second day. We had a water-purifying pump with us, but if we didn't find any water, the pump would be useless.

Days before the trip, I had prayed that we would find enough water to get us through. When we made it to our camping area, we found a water hole that was 2'x1' with about eight inches of water in it. We had enough water for the evening, but we weren't sure we’d have enough for the next day. That night we were hit with a thunderstorm, and it rained through the night. The next morning, we found that our water hole had become a raging brook. We even had a hard time crossing it!

I must admit that one of my guilty pleasures is to watch MMa (mixed martial arts) fights, particularly fights in the UFC.  Mixed Martial Arts is a hodge podge of wrestling, boxing, taekwondo, jui jitsu, and other fighting styles thrown into an 8-sided cage.  Fighters battle for 15 minutes (25 minutes for championship bouts) until someone is knocked out, the referee stops the action, or a fighter “taps out”.  The act of “tapping out” tells your opponent, the referee, and the millions watching on pay-per-view that you gave up because you are feeling immense pain brought on by your opponent.

Do you ever wake up and feel like God has a word for you that day? Well, today was one of those days for me. God revealed it to me in my quiet time. And, if that wasn’t enough, the devotion that my son and I read together was about the same passage and same thing. OK, OK. I get the message loud and clear.

The message was from Matthew 14. I was struck by the passage in which the disciples, obviously tired of the crowds of people that constantly surrounded them, told Jesus to send the people home and that they (the disciples) would go find food for themselves and Jesus. But Jesus had another answer for them that moment.

As athletes, a majority of us are constantly searching for two things when it comes to increasing our athletic performance:

1. Things that make us better.
2. Things that make us worse.

Athletes who are serious about reaching their full potential are always looking for that next exercise, diet or drill that will help them increase their performance. Similarly, athletes are also on the lookout for things that will inhibit or corrupt their performance (bad habits, poor attitudes, wrong diets, etc.) so that they might be able make changes and achieve their full athletic potential.

Fans hold their breath and sit on the edge of their seats. Then, it happens—that unexpected play that no one saw coming. In every sporting event, at any time, the element of surprise can alter a game’s momentum. One tick of the clock can take a coach through numerous emotions. In these defining moments we can learn great lessons about following Christ.

As we play the game, we never know what ups or downs might occur. Christ never promised His followers that life would be easy. But we have hope in the midst of the unknown. God has won the victory for us through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ. So anything we face can be overcome when we follow God’s game plan.

When the weather finally breaks after a long winter, everyone gets busy fertilizing the lawns, dusting off the golf clubs, cleaning up the patio furniture, and lighting up the grill. There is a genuine excitement in the air! If we stay in the house too long or if winter stays too long, we get cabin fever. Cabin fever is a condition of increased anxiety, tension, and boredom caused by living for some time in a confined space or an isolated area, especially in winter.

“Touch the line!” is a phrase that athletes hear constantly, a call to run a sprint the right way. In my own personal experience this phrase has often been followed by the dreaded “that one didn’t count.” Needless to say, no one likes to run more than they have to.

Why would a coach make an athlete run again just for missing a line? I mean really, sometimes it’s only a matter of inches. The answer has to do with hard work and discipline. A coach never wants to see a player cut corners. He or she wants every player to realize their full potential, even if that means focusing on seemingly minor things. The same is true of our Heavenly Coach.