"Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing."
Joy and gladness
1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. 2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.The words that jump out of this Psalm for me are – joy, gladness, thanksgiving, praise.
When we remember the promise in the last verse that “LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations” then we understand why we are to be glad and thankful.
We live in a world where people complain – about the weather, traffic jams, politics, taxes, lack of sponsorship, the coach, selection policy…. As Christians we are called to be joyful and thankful. Of course we get ill, rained upon, stuck in traffic but we know who we are because we “know that the LORD is God”.
When I interviewed the Zambian footballer, Jacob Mulenga, I was very struck by how he put it: “Very few people know who they are and it is the biggest weapon you have in football when you know who you are. I know who I am - I am a servant of the Lord. I know that I am extremely blessed. I am someone who can do anything in football. I know my strength does not come from me. It comes from above. So I know what I can do.”
Remind yourself that you know God and let that be a cause for thanksgiving and a way of dealing with problems in the club, at practice or wherever.