Players on the Court
John 14:16 – 17
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
A friend invited me to the US Open yesterday for the chance to see James Blake take on Tommy Haas. Toward the end of the match, my friend mentioned that this is the point that Jim Courier would say there are four people on the court. In the difficult situations you are not only playing against the player on the other side of the court, you are playing against yourself. Since both are playing against themselves there are a total four people on the court.
You've probably seen someone playing against him/herself. There is so much of what happens begins in the mind. Sometimes even the easiest things seem impossible and the person is causing their defeat rather than the opponent on the court. In tennis, it is sometimes clear when the unforced errors increase and the double faults suddenly dominate a serve that was moments before preceding ace after ace.
What you should do in these tennis moments? What should you do when these tennis moments show up in the rest of life? First, remember that God is always with you. Remember that God has seen you through difficult situations before and will do so again. Focus on the smallest part of the next moment and push through that moment with the help of God. When you have a small success, Praise the Lord and move forward to the next.
In tennis, at the end of the match, someone has to lose. Unfortunately, the hometown favorite Blake lost yesterday. It was an exciting match and Blake made some incredible shots. I'm sure that this match will help him better execute in the future. He may have lost this small battle, but will win in his larger challenges.
Fortunately, for us all in life, we can all win the prize of eternal life with the Lord and live a life more abundant. The abundance I speak does not exclude material things but is focused on living with the love of the Lord in our lives every day. With the certainty of our eternal future, improving our everyday becomes easier.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
A friend invited me to the US Open yesterday for the chance to see James Blake take on Tommy Haas. Toward the end of the match, my friend mentioned that this is the point that Jim Courier would say there are four people on the court. In the difficult situations you are not only playing against the player on the other side of the court, you are playing against yourself. Since both are playing against themselves there are a total four people on the court.
You've probably seen someone playing against him/herself. There is so much of what happens begins in the mind. Sometimes even the easiest things seem impossible and the person is causing their defeat rather than the opponent on the court. In tennis, it is sometimes clear when the unforced errors increase and the double faults suddenly dominate a serve that was moments before preceding ace after ace.
What you should do in these tennis moments? What should you do when these tennis moments show up in the rest of life? First, remember that God is always with you. Remember that God has seen you through difficult situations before and will do so again. Focus on the smallest part of the next moment and push through that moment with the help of God. When you have a small success, Praise the Lord and move forward to the next.
In tennis, at the end of the match, someone has to lose. Unfortunately, the hometown favorite Blake lost yesterday. It was an exciting match and Blake made some incredible shots. I'm sure that this match will help him better execute in the future. He may have lost this small battle, but will win in his larger challenges.
Fortunately, for us all in life, we can all win the prize of eternal life with the Lord and live a life more abundant. The abundance I speak does not exclude material things but is focused on living with the love of the Lord in our lives every day. With the certainty of our eternal future, improving our everyday becomes easier.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
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