Trusting the Coach: God’s Playbook for Our Lives

by Pat Immel, Guest

It is absolutely my pleasure to be here today. I can't help but notice what time of year it is. Yeah, weather's changing, schools are starting, and if you've been near a TV yesterday, you know something else has arrived. It's football season and I have all the things that I need for football season. I have my Packer gear: a shirt that's inside out (in the Immel household, our shirts are inside out.), a sweatshirt, a Jordy Nelson shirt, another Packer jacket, another Jordy Nelson (I was a big Jordy Nelson fan.); Brett Favre, the gunslinger, also inside out; A-Rod, Aaron Rodgers; Reggie White (And if you're a Packer fan, you know that the Packers signed a big player who was sort of in the neighborhood of Reggie White.), another sweatshirt, and a jacket. And this isn't everything, and this doesn't count my Bearcat stuff and all the other things.

Today I have a jersey I'm going to put on, David Bacchiari. He's actually a retired Packer, he's a lineman. And you know, not many people buy the lineman jerseys. So, I'm put this on for to represent everybody. All right, here we go.

So football in America is more than just a sport. It's a cultural event. Whole families gather around the TV, friends paint their faces and tailgate for hours. High school stadiums on Friday nights, they're lit up. College campuses are filled with marching bands and chants. NFL Sundays are almost like a second holiday every single week. And whether you're a diehard fan or someone who just enjoys the snacks during the game, I’m looking at you Terry Immel, one thing about football is clear. It takes trust.

Players have to trust their coaches. Coaches have to trust their players. The quarterback has to trust that his offensive line will block. The receivers have to trust that the quarterback will get the ball where it needs to go. And even when a play doesn't make sense in the moment, the team has to believe the coach sees the bigger picture.

That's the image I want us to hold on as we open God's Word. Because in life, God is our head coach. He knows the plays, he sees the whole field, and he has a game plan. Our job is to trust him, even when we don't really understand what he's calling.

Let's open up the playbook just a little bit. I have a couple, just some snippets. So, the first one is Jeremiah 29: 11. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.

This verse reminds us that God, that coach, has a plan. He's not calling plays randomly. He has a purpose for every direction in our lives.

The second one is Proverbs 3: 5-6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways submit to him, and he will make our paths straight. 

Here's a challenge. Sometimes we think we see the field better than God does. We want to run our own play, but scripture says don't lean on your understanding, trust him, submit to his call.

And lastly, Hebrews 12: 1. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 

This verse reminds us that we're not in this alone. We're surrounded by teammates, those in faith who have gone before us and those beside us now. And the game isn't won in one play. It's about perseverance and continuing to run until the final whistle.

So, part one, the playbook, God's word.

Think for a moment about a football playbook. It's thick, it's detailed, it's studied day after day. A player who never looks at the playbook will be lost. He won't know his assignment, he won't know where to run or what to do. Folks, the Bible is our playbook. It's a record of God's plan, his wisdom, his promises. It doesn't just tell us where to go, it tells us who we are.

Now let's be honest, some of God's plays don't really make sense to us. Imagine being a wide receiver and the coach calls a running play. You're thinking, “Coach, I could catch this ball and run 40 yards.” But instead, your job is to block, doesn't feel glamorous, doesn't get your name in the paper, but the coach knows the play is what the team needs right now.

That's how it feels when we hear Jesus say things like, love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you, turn the other cheek. I didn't realize that turn the other cheek was a Bible verse. I learned something new. Those aren't the plays we'd draw up if we were in charge, but God calls them because he sees the bigger picture, he sees the whole field.

And let's not forget, Jesus himself trusted the playbook. When he was tempted in the wilderness, he didn't argue. He didn't reason with the devil. He quoted the scripture, he ran the play, and it worked.

So, let me ask you, are you in the playbook? You study it, do you memorize it? Do you let it guide your decisions? Because no team succeeds if the players don't know the plays.

Second point, the team, or the church.

Football is a team sport. No matter how gifted one player is, they can't win alone. The apostle Paul describes the church as the body of Christ with many parts. Some are hands, some are feet, some are eyes, and every part is essential. I'm usually the elbow of the church, but that's a very important part as well.

Think about the offensive line. They rarely score touchdowns, they almost never get their name in the headlines. Nobody hardly ever buys their jerseys, but without them, the quarterback is on the ground and the team is in trouble. In the same way, there are people in church who may never stand up front, they might not lead a song, they might not preach a sermon or teach a class, but their prayers, their service, their quiet acts of love, those are the blocks that make the whole mission possible.

And here's the truth, sometimes teammates frustrate us, sometimes teammates drop the ball, but the winning team doesn't quit on each other, they huddle back up, they listen to the coach, and they try again. Church, folks, we're on the same team. Trusting the coach means trusting one another, encouraging one another, and remembering that every role matters.

Now we get to the quarterback, which is Jesus. On the field, the quarterback is the leader who carries out the coach's plan. He hears a play in the headset, communicates it to the team, and then executes it on the field.

Jesus is our quarterback, he perfectly lived out the Father's will, he took the words of the scripture, put them into motion, and when we want to know how to live God's game plan, we look to Jesus. Think about how he treated people, he reached out to the lepers when no one else would touch them, he ate with the tax collectors and sinners when no one else would sit at the tables, he forgave those who nailed him to the cross, that is the playbook in motion.

But here's a challenge, hearing the quarterback's voice in a stadium is tough. There are 70,000 plus fans screaming, the defense is shouting, the band is playing, and yet the players train themselves to tune it all out and focus on the quarterback. That's our challenge too. The noise of life is loud, culture shouts at us, fear whispers at us, temptation calls to us, but our job is to tune it all out and listen for the voice of Jesus.

How do we do that? Through prayer, through spending time in his word, through fellowship with others. The more time we spend with him, the more clearly we hear his voice.

Point four, the goal, which is victory.

In football, the goal is to win the game, but here's the good news of the gospel, in Christ, victory has already been won. On the cross, it looked like defeat, the scoreboard seemed final, but three days later, Jesus walked out of the grave and the game was turned upside down, death was defeated and the enemy was silenced. The book of Romans declares that we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

That means you're not playing for victory, which is the good part, you're playing from victory. The outcome is already secured, your role is to trust the coach, run your assignment and stay faithful until the final whistle.

Okay, living the message, so how do we take this off field and into our lives? Maybe you're in a season when the play doesn't make sense, you thought you'd be further along, you thought life would look different, trust the coach, he sees the whole field.

Injuries happen in football and sometimes players have to watch from the bench. In life, you may feel benched by illness, loss, waiting, but the coach hasn't forgotten you, he's still training you and shaping you to get out on the field. When you celebrate a touchdown, every blessing, every victory, every answered prayer, don't forget to point back to the coach, give him the glory.

And here's one more: when you feel tired, Hebrew 12 says, run with perseverance, this isn't a one play game, it's a long season, so keep running, keep trusting, keep believing. There's a football team, their pregame chant before going onto the field was, “we believe in the plan.” And that's how they fired themselves up before taking the field, while dancing around in a circle and doing their thing.

So, friends, that should be our chant too. Romans 8:31 says, if God is for us, who can be against us? That's our rallying cry, that's our locker room speech, that's the truth we carry with us every day.

God is our head coach, He's written the playbook, Jesus is our quarterback, we are His team and victory is already secure. So, let's trust the coach, let's run the plays, let's encourage our teammates and let's celebrate the victory that has already been won through Christ.

Let us pray. Lord God, our heavenly Father, we thank you that you are our great coach, the one who knows the plans that you have for us. Thank you for giving us the playbook of your word, for sending Jesus as our quarterback and example and for surrounding us with teammates in the body of Christ.

Help us to trust you even when the play doesn't make sense, to stay faithful when we feel sidelined and to celebrate the victory you give along the way. Give us strength to persevere, ears to hear your voice above the noise and hearts that give you all the glory. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, we pray, amen.