By: Mitch Price
One of the greatest privileges I have as the Lead Pastor of Life Church (and greatest responsibilities too I might add) is at times to be highly entangled in the lives of the church members. On a regular basis, I get to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly. In a recent staff meeting, as we were sharing about some of the difficulties and brokenness being experienced throughout our church family, I had a flashback to my senior year in high school….
Football season was at its peak and I was one of the captains on the football team (even though I was five-foot nothin’, a hundred and nothin’ pounds and, well, no bigger than a peanut). About the only things I had going for me were that I had been doing it since Bitty Football, I had learned good technique, and I was tenacious. I vividly remember a touchdown celebration that led to a big ole pile-on. You know, that’s where everybody is celebrating in a clump, and those from the outside come running and jumping on top of everyone causing a big pile of testosterone. As luck and my “small stature” would have it, I ended up at the bottom of that pile. I was literally beneath a couple dozen guys and some of whom we’re literally twice as big as me. Good times. Somehow my chin got pressed next to my chest, cutting off my air flow. I couldn’t breathe. At all. Panic set in. It felt as though there was an endless stream of teammates joining the pile, and for a brief moment I thought – – this might be the end. Seriously, I might die here. Fortunately, as if “someone” was whispering in my ear, I heard “Hang in there. This will all be over soon, and you will be just fine. Don’t give up!” And thankfully my “life-threatening” trauma (probably not really) came to an end.
That same “someone” who whispered in my ear that day, had reminded the staff and I that His encouragement still applies today – – to each of us. No matter what type of struggles we face or hardships we are battling through, His word to us is always “Hang in there. This will all be over soon, and you will be just fine. Don’t give up!” Regardless of the outcomes, we can trust him to weave together our life experiences in such a way that it is for our absolute best and brings Him the most Glory! Let it be Lord! AMEN!