Be Ready, Stay Focused!

 

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”*

After church last Sunday, Al and I hurried home and got ready to go to a soccer game. Nate, our 13-year-old grandson, is participating in recreational soccer again this fall. It doesn’t seem possible, but Nate has been playing soccer since he was about five years old.

We wanted to arrive before the game started, but were running late. To complicate things, the parking lot wasn’t near the field. After a few more minutes of driving, Al finally found a space along the road that was closer.   

 “Are we at the right place?” Al wanted to know. “These guys look too big!”

 Shanda, Nate’s mom and our daughter, waved to us from a chair at the end of a line of spectators, confirming that we were at the right place. The game was already in full swing.

“Nate’s the goalie!” Shanda exclaimed, pointing to a tall, slender youth wearing a neon shirt over his blue team t-shirt. It was Nate alright. Seems like he had grown overnight! 

Goalie! Well, that was an important position, especially since the opposing team seemed to be dominating the ball on Nate’s end of the field. We watched intently, hoping that Nate would be ready when someone from the other team tried to make a goal.

Shanda had made plans to go to another event and left soon after we arrived. Elliot, Nate’s younger brother, was chasing a couple of other kids around the playground while the game was going on. After checking in with us, he headed back to the playground, with the instruction to go to our car as soon as the game was over. Hard keeping an eye on both boys!

It was a hot afternoon, so hot that I walked back to the car and found an umbrella to use for shade.  Our hats weren’t shielding the rays of the sun from our arms and legs, and sunscreen wasn’t helping much either.

The kids on the team were hot and tired too! They congregated around the bench at half-time getting drinks and cooling off a bit before starting again. Nate returned to his goalie position, a surprise since we were expecting him to switch with another teammate.  

In spite of his good efforts and warding off many attempts to the goal, three balls managed to pass Nate and slam into the net. However, his team came through with five goals, ending with a 5 to 3 win.

Was he nervous about being the goalie? Nate knew what to expect having been goalie before and liked playing that position. It was a lot of work, but Nate felt like he could have a real impact on the game!

The coach had told him beforehand to stay focused and not let his mind drift off to other things. During the game, he seemed engaged, watching the ball and shouting out to his teammates. Instructions? Words of encouragement? Al and I were proud of his performance and his leadership ability.

The apostle Peter wrote a letter to Christians who had been forced to flee Jerusalem after Christ’s death and resurrection, urging them to be alert and self-controlled, ready for any attack by Satan. Peter knew well the consequences of not being prepared from his experience in the Garden of Gethsemane.

 Instead of praying, as Jesus had asked him to do, he fell asleep. If he had stayed awake, if he had prayed before Jesus’ arrest, would Peter have denied knowing Jesus later that night?

As believers in Christ, we are in a serious conflict with Satan. Not only do we need to be alert in order to protect ourselves, we also need to be aware of his attacks on other Christians and to stand in the gap for them through our prayers, support and encouragement.

We must resist Satan and stand firm in the faith. As Peter wrote from the depths of his heart,  “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever.” (* 1 Peter 5:8-11 NIV)

God is with us! We aren’t in this battle alone! Press on!

Picture above shows Nate as goalie in green shirt. :)