As Christian athletes we sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that God is always on our team’s side. We think, Why would God not want us to have victory on the playing field? Are we not more righteous than our opponents? (For some reason I always saw the other team as the bad guys). Even more, Why would He not want us to experience victory?

Habakkuk cried out to God for answers to questions like these. He could not understand why God would allow such evil and horrible injustice to take place in his land. God gave him an answer he couldn’t believe. God told him the Chaldeans were going to invade his land. God had purposed that the Chaldeans—a nation more evil than his own—were going to be His instrument of justice among the people of Judah.

In just his fourth full season in the Major Leagues, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has already become a household name. After winning the 2011 NL Cy Young Award, the then 23-year-old joined the ranks of all-time Dodger greats Sandy Koufax, Fernando Valenzuela and Orel Hershiser, and he recently became just the fifth pitcher in franchise history to strike out more than 200 batters in three consecutive seasons.

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.

We know them well—athletes who, at first, worked hard and gave the credit to God for their success. But then as success increased, giving God the glory decreased. It happens all the time—the once humble athlete asks for more of the world and less of God. Pride takes over!

King Uzziah was one of these men. Under the spiritual influence of Zechariah, Uzziah sought the Lord and was blessed. But Uzziah started to focus more on himself and less on God. He became powerful quickly and quickly forgot who got him to that point. He became so proud and brash that he entered the temple and tried to do things only the priests were allowed to do.

Remember this line? “Do as I say, not as I do.” What a recipe for disaster! The athletic world is full of double standards. Some athletes get treated better than others. Freshmen don’t usually get the same privileges as seniors. Even coaches sometimes have double standards for their athletes. Many times a coach will say that players late for practice will be punished. How often is this enforced if the late player is one of the best on the team?

As a young coach I was blessed with good players and quick success. Although people told me what a good coach I was, I considered the really great coach to be in the local junior high. Phil Hodson was the Wilbur Shooterfly (Hoosiers) of my day. He had an incredible knowledge of the game. One day after winning our seventh or eighth game in a row, he pulled me aside. I was expecting him to tell me I did a great job. Instead, he let me have it. He told me what I needed to hear, not what I wanted to hear.

As a coach, my main objective is to communicate the game plan to my players. My next objective is to teach them to execute it on game days through hours of practice. During my pregame speech I may promise that if they execute the plan properly, they will have a chance to win. However, in the chaos of the game, the plan that I have mapped out may begin to unravel. If some of the players failed to study and learn it, the whole team will suffer. Are there similarities between this scenario and your own experiences?