Aside from my father, the most influential man in my life has been my coach. He was always very clear about the fact that, regardless of the issues that accompany academics, athletics, and disciplinary measures, he cared about me and valued me as a person. One of his many memorable sayings was, “When you fistfight or curse, you have run out of ideas.” Later I had the unparalleled honor of teaching with him for a short while, and he went on to found the FCA chapter for which I have now been Huddle Coach for twenty-one years. At the time of the Huddle’s birth, Jesus had just changed my life, and that’s when the coach asked me to co-sponsor. One year later he took another job, leaving the Huddle to me.

During times of trial, a standing joke with my family and myself has been, “Please don’t mention Moses. It seems as if this man had an incredibly long and tiring road with ungrateful people and fair-weather fans (sound familiar?). As if this was not enough, Moses and his clan finally reached the edge of the Promised Land and wandered for forty years, not being allowed to enter. Is this the most encouraging devotional you have ever read?

Coach Jones’s team lost a couple of games that had seemed like sure wins, and the wolves were howling for a change. Coach Jones had allowed his disappointment to turn to discouragement, and he was feeling pretty low. Right about that time a friend came to him and quoted Samuel Johnson: “Great works are not accomplished by strength, but by perseverance.” His friend added, “You are doing a great work and it’s a lot bigger than football.

Expectations are everywhere. In sports, every person has expectations, most of which go unmet. There are so many expectations and so much disappointment when they are not met.

Dr. Joe Stowell spoke recently about expectations. He shared three areas in which we deal with unmet expectations: people around us, our place in life, and the future. We tend to create expectations each day that set us up for potential problems.

It seems the psalmist’s heart, informed by God’s truth, was the source of his wise speech and security in life. Many coaches rest their security in their players’ abilities, which serves them  well until injuries occur. Other coaches find security in knowledge of their sport or the experience of their coaching staff. Others appear fully confident, but are then found to be inferior in competition. In each case, their confidence easily turns to anxiety because of the nature of their source.

Our heart can be a limitless source of peace and confidence if we maintain our relationship with Christ through careful study of the Bible. Reading the Scriptures regularly deposits the law of God in our hearts and will keep our steps from slipping.

My first fall playing collegiate Division I volleyball went exactly as I imagined. We ended up conference champions and competed in the NCAA tournament. It was smooth sailing. Though classes were difficult and I was homesick, I felt at home, because the volleyball court was the same 900 square feet it had always been. My second year started like the first. However, six starters had graduated. After our first win, the season disintegrated. As a sophomore, I could no longer hide behind the older players. Suddenly that 900 square-foot court didn’t look as familiar. We began that season as conference champions and ended with a 5-25 record. At the season’s end, all I could think about was my failure as a player and anger at the game.