In this passage, Jacob wrestles with God in the person of Jesus. We know this because the man says, “I have seen God face to face” (Gn 32:30). It could not have been God the Father because John 1:18 states, “No man has ever seen God.” Therefore, we know that Jacob wrestled with God the Son, Jesus.

As they wrestled, Jesus dislocated Jacob’s hip. Every coach knows that athletes need strong legs to compete, especially in wrestling. Without his legs an athlete cannot wrestle; he can only  hold on. That is exactly what Jacob did. He gripped God!

As coaches and athletes, we put all of our hearts, bodies, and emotions into our endeavors. We’re instructed to “give it all we’ve got,” and as we do, we begin to understand what Paul was saying to the Colossian Christians.

      One of God’s greatest gifts to us is that he is willing to direct our paths. He has prepared a way for us, but we must be willing to follow it. It is easy to say we want to take God’s path, but it is just as easy to get off course.

Rafer Johnson’s dream of a good life hinged on his athletic ability, even though he’d been told that a birth defect would prevent him from participating in athletics. He chose to deal with the defect as a simple setback rather than as a deal breaker. With the help of coaches and family, he not only won his battle but was declared the world’s greatest athlete when he won the 1960 Olympic decathlon.

Hockey Chat:  Mark Messier was a great goal scorer with 694 goals in his 20 years of playing.  But he doubled that number with the passes he made that helped his teammates score time after time.  His linemates knew that he was a great playmaker and were ready to grab goals of their own from his assists.  His efforts won him and his teammates six Stanley Cups.

Hockey Chat:  The original Stanley Cup is made of pure silver.  This precious metal for the prestigious Cup, was worked by a silversmith who makes silver in it’s purest form by first placing it over an intense flame.  This high heat melts the metal and separates the impurities from the true silver. It is considered pure when the silversmith can see his reflection in it.

I recently had the "pleasure" of running my 3rd 5K. A good friend of mine was also running the race, and at the beginning, I decided I was going to try and keep her pace since we have similar times. I soon realized her pace was a bit faster than mine, so I then decided I would make sure to keep her in my sights. This worked out great for a while and I kept pushing along, making good time (for me, at least). We then got to a weird turn and suddenly I didn't see her anymore. My pusher had disappeared, and it made me feel a little lost and like I wasn't going to be able to finish.

All my friends and I are turning 16 this year and, let me tell you, that’s a big one. I always know who’s just had a birthday, not because their school locker is decorated or because of that faint scent of butter cream frosting on their breath, but because of something far more significant: that shiny new driver’s license burning a hole in their wallet! Hey, that is a milestone in a kid’s life.  And that little piece of plastic pretty much tells it all. I mean, it tells your height, your weight, your eye color—everything you’d need to know about a person. But, if you ask me, even with all that information, a lot of kids in my generation are having a serious identity crisis!  

As a coach, you’ve probably tried to learn from the best in your profession through clinics, articles, visits, and the informal conversations that happen when coaches get together. The knowledge we gain is often priceless, but sometimes it’s costly. Costly not so much in the areas of strategy and fundamentals, but in regard to the way we relate to players, coaches, and parents. This is not to suggest that advice in these areas is always negative, but any counsel we receive regarding the “life-related” issues of coaching, family, finances, etc. is potentially harmful if not filtered through God’s Word. Regarding God’s Word, the psalmist writes, “Your decrees are my delight and my counselors” (Ps 119:24).

King Josiah was just eight years old when he began to change his world. Even at such a young age he decided to live in the ways of the Lord and do what was right in His eyes. I wonder if we are doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord at our age.

God asks us to change our lives—our worlds. If we think about it, our personal lives are pretty much our world. We feel like the world is falling apart when we are having difficulties. We do have the power to change a world—our world—when we rely on Christ, “not turn[ing] to the right or to the left.” And I believe that we can have an impact on others as well when we do “what is right in the Lord’s sight.” Don’t just read it!