Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Give God Your Best

“Even if you had faith as small as a mustard seed,” the Lord answered, “you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May God uproot you and throw you in the sea,’ and it would obey you!”

-- Luke 17:6 (NLT)

Facing the Giants is one of my all-time favorite movies for many, many reasons. But there is one scene that truly touches my heart every time I watch the DVD.

The former soccer player turned back-up football kicker is faced with a terrifying situation. The starting kicker is injured and the coach calls on him to kick the winning field goal. The state championship is on the line.

The player doesn’t believe he can do it. He’s given up before he even tries. The coach asks the player if he believes God could make that kick. Yes. Of course. God can do anything. The coach goes on to explain that God expects us to give our best and let Him take care of the rest.

You probably already know how the movie ends. The player kicks the winning field goal and his team wins, giving God the glory -- as they should.

Monday night Alabama’s field goal kicker stood poised to prove himself. He’d been criticized earlier in the season for missed field goals. He stood ready to attempt a career-long field goal in the national championship game. I kept playing the scene from the movie over and over in my mind, willing this young man to believe. He made the field goal -- and several others.

How many times do you or I give up before we even try? We have a dream but we decide it’ll never work, it isn’t possible, it’s too far beyond us. We forget the power behind us. We forget that nothing is impossible with God. (Mark 9:23)

So ask God what He wants you to do. Present your dreams and plans to Him and ask for His approval and His blessing. Then, if God approves, give it everything you’ve got. Don’t hold back. Give God your best and expect Him to do the rest.

Victory comes first through belief. What do you believe God can do? What do you believe you can accomplish when you do your best and God is doing all the rest? Then give God everything you’ve got, knowing that He can do anything and you can do everything with Him by your side.