April 8, 2019 - What Have You Done For Me Lately (Coaching Carousel)

Well tonight is the big night in college hoops… the national championship game. And, of course, there is some controversy surrounding it based upon calls refs made, etc. I am tempted to jump in on that bandwagon of discussion but will save it for another day…


Instead this week my mind was tweaked by the annual coaching carousel… as coaches get fired… take higher profile jobs in better conferences… etc. The coaching profession is truly based on a “what have you done for me lately” mentality…


You see guys or gals that have had success in the past, but maybe had a down year or two recently, and the news is out that the school needs to go in a different direction. (What I really love is how often the “different direction” is not just a coaching change, but promising the new coach increased $ to hire staff… improved facilities to help in recruitment… etc. You would think the old coach would have appreciated that help…)


Or maybe a coach at a smaller school had an exceptional year and gets offered a “bigger” job…


Example: Wofford had a really solid year; one where they had the right athletes to fit their program and made a serious splash in the tourney. Their coach, Mike Young, just got the job at Virginia Tech in the ACC… this is a big-time job. He is a popular choice because of this year’s success… but I am curious why he hasn’t been offered jobs in the past. He has 30 years of service at Wofford [17 as the head coach] where he has shown what type of coach he is.


First, kudos to Wofford for sticking with Young that long… I know they are not in a power conference and not expected to win big, but that is a great history… reminds me of a coach that spent 16 years at a university and then won a national championship… and then 9 more… you see UCLA stuck with John Wooden for a long time before their great run of 10 championships in 12 years.


These programs stuck with their coaches because of trust, not momentary circumstances of winning or losing. They believed in the overall picture of having a solid coach.


So how does this translate to the weekly devotion? Well as my “mind was tweaked” it was with the thought that we treat God much the same way coaches are treated; we tend to have a “what have you done for me lately” mentality. If circumstances are rough… or prayers are not answered to our liking… we tend to question His goodness as our “coach.” We forget that God is in it for the long haul… His promises centered on eternal victory.


I stated this last night while preaching but feel it bears repeating: if God never answers another prayer to your liking, it doesn’t change the fact that He is a good God that loves us… He demonstrated that not by answering every prayer like we want… not by changing every negative circumstance to where we are “ahead on life’s scoreboard”… not by having every “season be a winning season.” “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)


Today, whatever you are going through, remember that God loves you and has proved it beyond any doubt! He has secured your eternal victory… everything else we are dealing with is temporal… sometimes a winning season, sometimes a losing season… but in the end we win!