I love football. Especially the Minnesota Vikings. Favorite players? Peyton Manning (retired NFL quarterback) and Scottie Benedict. Scottie is my favorite youngest nephew and will always be my favorite athlete. And even though neither he nor Peyton play football anymore, they are my favorites. Yes, I love football.
As I’m writing this, I’m experiencing a light case of “day after the Super Bowl blues.” No more football for a few months. Sigh.
Now perhaps, no more football for a while is the best thing that’s happened to you since sliced bread, elastic waisted pants, and chocolate covered peanuts.
Love it or hate it, lean in while I share one of my football-teaching moments.
Steve and I were watching a Vikings-Packers game. In the first few minutes of the game, the Packers fumbled, and the Vikings were instantly yards away from potentially scoring a touchdown. Steve said through the TV screen to anyone on the Vikings team who was listening to him, “You’ve been given a gift. Do something with it.”
Wise words, wouldn’t you say? Not only for my Vikings, but for my heart.
We’ve all had some seasons of tough times lately, right?
(And not just with my cherished Minnesota Vikings.)
I’m talking about the fumbles that pop up too often in so many homes. And the tough, tough, tough moments that feel too big to get through.
The fumbles happen and we need something good to come from it.
We don’t always get the answers we want to the big question when the fumble happens unexpectedly … Why? Really? Why?
It’s hard to imagine anything good coming out of the hard moments.
But I do know this.
God ALWAYS shows up when we’re scrambling on the ground trying to regain control of the situation while other players and messes just keep piling on top of us.
The ball is dropped. Mistakes happen. Life situations we can’t explain nor did we invite show up.
And then. While we wait for answers or solutions or fixes …
He shows up with His PEACE. There is no hesitation on God’s part. He is right there—in the moment—offering us supernatural peace. Peace that is wrapped in His love and grace and tenderness.
But this is where I sometimes mess up. I know in my head that peace can be mine. I read and speak the Bible verses that promise it to me.
But if I don’t accept the peace — if I don’t apply the peace to my life — it doesn’t change anything. It’s simply a gift that is within my reach, that can change my heart and my life, and I just look at the pretty package with the bow and smile. “What a nice gift.”
My friend.
Let’s not miss this gift of peace. For real. Let’s not settle for knowing that it’s there for us. Let’s grab it with gusto. Open it! Claim it as our own. Let’s put that PEACE in our hearts.
Replace the fretting and the hand wringing and trying to control the situation. Set all that aside and say, Thank you, God, for your gift of peace. I don’t understand how this fumble happened, but I need your peace. I’m receiving it and I’m going to live in it.
Fumbles are going to happen. Messes show up.
And.
God always offers us a gift while we wait for answers.
Do something with it. Open this precious gift of peace.
“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.” (Philippians 4:6-7 Message paraphrase)
