Pep Talks

“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold In settings of silver.”

Proverbs 25:11

Even professional athletes get discouraged and feel like giving up and they are only playing a game that most are being paid millions of dollars to do so. What about the average guy or gal who is just trying to get through life? How do we handle the adversity that comes our way? How do we keep going when it appears that everyone else is giving up? The answer is a “Pep Talk”. We all need a good pep talk every now and then to remind us of what we know to be true but have somehow forgotten in the midst of whatever it is we are going through. Pain has a way of distracting us from living.

The bible is filled with “Pep Talks” from men and women just like me and you who have been there, they themselves have faced the hard battles of life and seemingly against all odds came out on the other side victorious, more than conquerors as the bible puts it. In 2 Corinthians 6 we read about a “Pep Talk” that the apostle Paul was setting out to deliver to the church at Corinth. He was seeking to remind the Corinthians of the truth of God’s purposes and plans because they were forgetting the truth so quickly due to the false teachers that were following Paul around and trying to undo the message that Paul was called of God to deliver that Jesus Christ alone was the means of salvation, the promised Messiah the people had hoped would come to deliver them.

Just when many of the people of Corinth were starting to fall away from following God due to persecution and turning back to their old habits Paul wrote a letter, he sent a “Pep Talk” you might say in hopes of getting their attention and helping them to refocus their eyes back on the agenda at hand, back on Jesus. As I read the chapter the Lord quickened a “Pep Talk” from 1980 that Herb Brooks, who was then the coach of the mens hockey team who was facing the dominate Russian team for the gold medal. Here is what coach Brooks said to his team right before the biggest game of these young boys lives.

“Great moments are born from great opportunity.
And that’s what you have here tonight, boys.
That’s what you’ve earned here, tonight.
One game.
If we played ‘em 10 times, they might win nine.
But not this game. Not tonight.
Tonight, we skate with ‘em.
Tonight, we stay with ‘em, and we shut them down because we can!
Tonight, we are the greatest hockey team in the world.
You were born to be hockey players—every one of ya.
And you were meant to be here tonight.
This is your time.
Their time—is done. It’s over.
I’m sick and tired of hearin’ about what a great hockey team the Soviets have. Screw ‘em!
This is your time!!”

I love reading that, “Pep Talk” because if I was your coach today in Jesus I would share much of the same things with you too, Christian. No matter what you are facing today in your life, no matter what you are up against the bible makes clear we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. Great moments are born from great opportunity and today is your opportunity. Like Esther, “for such a time is this”. You are here for a reason today, and that reason is to know the power and the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. Sure the devil is sneaky and seeks to steal and kill and destroy us, but remember, he is a defeated foe. Jesus destroyed the works of the devil on the Cross and greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. You my friends have been selected to play for the gold today. Not just anyone but you! You are on the winning team.

You were Born Again to become a child of God. Not just any old kid or from any old family, you belong to the family of God! You can do all things today through Christ who strengthens you. Nothing is impossible for you that God has called you to do. We aren’t talking about yesterday or tomorrow, we are talking about today, right here, right now. Today is your time, we will never pass this way again. Remember, don’t miss your opportunity to stand atop the podium today! The devil is defeated, it is over for him but for you, this is your time! Live like the champion you are!

“Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.”

Psalm 34:3

I LOVE YOU!