The Race for a Championship

I just wanted to share with you a little situation I'll be experiencing this weekend.  We've raced all year and we find ourselves, after 35 races, only leading by 15 points over Jimmy Johnson and 49 points over Kevin Harvick.  For those of you who aren't race fans, that's like three spots with Jimmy Johnson and maybe eight or nine with Kevin Harvick.  We've raced all season and it's that close.  It's the closest The Chase has been since it was started.  So, think about my situation in this.  Maybe some of you out there are going through a situation similar to this.  I want this so bad that it hurts!  What does this championship really mean for us?  It means to honor our sponsors, FedEx, with a victory.  It means so much to the JGR family.  There are over 430 employees here and it would mean so much to all of us.  It would mean money for the winner.  So, this is where I find myself.  What do you guys do when you find yourself in a situation like this?  For me, I lay in bed at night consumed with how much I want this. 

This afternoon I started thinking about what the proper perspective is on this.  I find myself truly wanting what God wants in this situation.  And one thing I need to be careful of is how God warns us not to have idols.  Idols are anything we would put in place of him.  Anything that we would worship more than God.  An idol is anything you can't live without and be happy.  What happens if we lose this race?  Is this something that I can't live without?  Will I be unhappy?  God gives us the right perspective on a situation like this. 

As I was reading this afternoon in a devotional, here's what I was struck by.  In Exodus 20:5, it says, "You must not bow down to them or worship them.  For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God and will not tolerate your affections for other Gods."  As you can see, we are tempted to put other things, above the Lord, as our top priority in life.  Do we put money there?  Do we put winning races there?  Do we put football there?  Do we put being president of the company there?  Hopefully not.

Here's our prayer this weekend : I pray that we'll have the grace to handle whatever happens.  If it should go the wrong way for us and we don't win this title, hopefully I'll be able to say, "I don't understand it God--it hurts--but I know you're a good God and you're loving.  You sent your only Son to this earth to die on a cross for me and my sins."  A loving God like that should allow us the confidence to know that even when something doesn't go my way that in the end, it will all work out.  He wants what is best for me. 

There are two things I want to close with.  When we don't get what we want, God is really saying two things to us:

1)  Wait, it's not the right time

2)  I have something better in store for you

This is something I've been dealing with lately.  Do I have the right perspective on this?  Is there anything in my life that I would make an idol and worship above God? 

So, God, give me the right perspective.  And give me grace if it doesn't go the way I want it to go.

Joe Gibbs

http://gameplanforlife.com/Zoo/The-Right-Perspective-on-the-Race-For-a-Championship.html