Challengers

As a coach, part of my job was to teach players the right way to play. They had to have the right form and be in the right place. They had to know when to move and when to stay, how to read the other team and how to react to them. That was the easy part of coaching.

Another part of my job as a coach was to "get the most out of the talent I had." It was to challenge my players to play bigger than they were, faster than they were, better than they were. This wasn't always as easy. I offered food money for certain accomplishments; I threatened the team with more conditioning for mistakes. Once, I had an opposing coach pull me aside and tell me that my team plays hard, but "you just don't have enough bullets in the gun." In other words, we weren't big enough, good enough or fast enough to compete. As a coach looking for ways to challenge my team, this was a gift. When we played against that coach's team every player on the court had a chip on their shoulder and something to prove because those words were playing over and over again in each player's ears.

The coaches I had challenged me. Some yelled, some set high expectations, some offered praise. Is this something only coaches do?

Obadiah worked for King Ahab, even though he was a believer and a servant of the Lord. He had done great things in the past, but never publicly stood up to his boss. Along comes Elijah to challenge him. We don't know if Elijah was purposefully challenging Obadiah or if the same brash attitude he displayed was just expected of others. Either way, he tells Obadiah to go and act, to stop resting on his past accomplishments and live for today.

Who in your life needs to be challenged? Who can be bigger, faster or better? Who needs a push or a pull or a nudge in the right direction? Who can do great things if only you challenged them?

What's stopping you, don't you have enough bullets in your gun?