Adversity: Friend or Foe?

Intro

Thank you Coach duff! Over the last two years i’ve had the privilege of representing both Eastaboga Baptist Church and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in the Lincoln School System. I’ve met with the Boys soccer team on most Wednesday afternoons for what we call our “team huddles”. We’ve looked at the scriptures and I’ve gotten to know these guys better. It’s been an awesome opportunity, and i’m thankful to Coach Duff for allowing me to just do life with him and his team.

Question

I have a question for all of you tonight:

What happens to us, when adversity hits?

Alex Smith Story

2005 1st round draft pick out of the University of Utah to the San Francisco 49ers

Multiple winning seasons

replaced in both San Fran and Kansas City

Goes to Washington does well

2018 Breaks Leg

18 surgeries, Infections with Flesh eating Bacteria

Happy to be alive and able to walk.

October 2020 comes back onto the field when the 1st and 2nd string get hurt.

November starts for first time in 2 years

What does this have to do with us? We’re in high school.

There was no way for Alex to have known what his career would hold when he was in High school.

He was dealing with things just like you. Wrestling with difficult decisions. Trying to figure out who he could trust. Dealing with struggles in his family.

We all have different reasons for being involved in organized sports like soccer.

Some have aspirations of playing at the next level.

Some love competition

Some love being a part of a team.

While some are looking for positive ways to deal with frustration

and others have things going on in their home lives that they are working desperately to avoid.

While we all have our own individual reasons why we play, we are unknowingly being shaped into the men that we will be as adults.

I grew up in a place where you would almost think that we were “bred” to play baseball. I learned to hit and throw as soon as i was able. As we grew up, and were playing in little league, the high school coaches would often come watch us play. They would identify which of us would play for them when we got older and begin to “groom” us. I was one of those kids. Throughout my entire childhood, i was going to play outfield for our school and then go to college to play. I went to camps, had lessons with the coaches, etc. The time finally came. In 7th grade i began playing school ball. I played for three years. Then I have my whole world pulled out from under my feet. In my first JV game, i choke. I have a terrible game, and my coach rarely lets me see the field again that season. The next season, i don’t make the team. I’m crushed. everything that i expected my life to be changed in an instant. Then through a series of events, the track coach approaches me about running. Sorry coach duff, but i wanted nothing to do with a sport that revolved around running. But after the coach approached me a few more times, i gave it a try. It was the best decision i could have made. I eventually went on to qualify for state in 4 events my senior year, even managing to medal in 1 of those events.

Why does that matter to you?

because sometimes in life, things aren’t going to work out like you planned.

If i had gone to college to play baseball, i would have never met my wife and had my son. The Lord was protecting me, even when i wasn’t able to see it

Because this team allowed me the chance to be around people from different cultures

The area that i grew up in is not very “diverse”. On the track team, i ran on a relay team with a foreign exchange student from Italy, a Jamaican who had moved to town for his dad’s job, and my best friend who happened to be a Mexican. During that last season, I learned more about people than i ever had before.

because for the first time, i felt like i was surrounded by a group of people who had my back.

A successful team looks more like a family than an organization, right? Sometimes you fuss and fight, but at the end of the day you know that you are going in the same direction.

Conclusion

As a team this season, you set goals, chased after them, you achieved some of them, and fell short of others. In that process, you got a glimpse into the many seasons you’ll experience throughout this life. I want to leave you tonight with a few things that i have learned over the years. Things that you seniors need to hear. As well as things that will make you underclassman that much stronger for the years to come.

1. Surround yourself with people who Challenge you.

Proverbs 27:17 ESV

17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

A “Yes Man” makes us feel good, but does more damage than good.

2. Forgive the people who are hard to forgive. Because you are probably one of them

Ephesians 4:32 CSB

32 And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.

in a team setting, and in life, we are going to be frustrated with people, and people are going to be frustrated with you. That’s just a part of it. The important thing isn’t what happened, but how you react. Don’t react by holding onto things and being bitter.

3. Don’t wait until you’re older to “get right with Jesus”

Most of us believe that we have plenty of time to do what we want, and then “get right”

but The scriptures tell us that

Matthew 24:27 CSB

27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

In the Book of romans, paul tells us that:

Romans 3:23 CSB

23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;

Romans 5:8 CSB

8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 10:9–10 CSB

9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.

Guys, You’ve all learned so much from this year. Use the knowledge and experience that you now have, to catapult you into whatever the Lord has for you next.

Thank you and May God Bless You All!