Confidence

Anyone who’s coached with me may realize that I do something very unique that not everyone appreciates. Maybe it is when the opposing coach is coaching his hardest, or during the most crucial points of the year, that I will intentionally step back and see who is willing to step up and take responsibility.If the goal in coaching is to develop players to reach their full potential, we must resist the temptation to try to coach to win every game, and therefore create players who are dependent upon your constant verbal instruction. Instead, we must let those who are confident step up and figure it out.

34 But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, 35 I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. 36 I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God!37 The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!” 1 Sam 17:34-37a NLT

After forty days of taunting the Israelites, no one is willing to step up to Goliath’s challenge. It is at this point that David brings a different perspective that enables him to slay the giant. Many people are fascinated with this story about how David used his slingshot and Goliath’s own sword against him.   

One part that I think is underappreciated is where David found the courage to step up. When nobody else was willing to take on Goliath, David simply looked back at all the things God had done in his life. God’s faithfulness to David gave him the courage to step into the moment and slay the giant. His trust didn’t come from his own abilities to slay Goliath, but from the confidence he had of God’s presence with him.

Maybe there’s a situation in your life that God has put in front of you that nobody is stepping forward to take advantage of. It could be that God is waiting for you to show the trust and confidence you have in Him to step out and be used by Him in a miraculous way.

Since 1954, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes has been challenging coaches and athletes on the professional, college, high school, junior high and youth levels to use the powerful medium of athletics to impact the world for Jesus Christ. FCA focuses on serving local communities by equipping, empowering and encouraging people to make a difference for Christ – to see the world impacted for Jesus Christ through the influence of coaches and athletes.

More information can be found at FCA.org.