Tony Dungy - Leaning on the Promises of God for Men

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Leaning on the Promises of God for Men

Copyright 2021 by Tony Dungy. All rights reserved.

Adapted from The One Year Uncommon Life Daily Challenge, published in 2011 under ISBN 978-1-4143-4828-5.

Cover photograph of eagle feathers copyright Tim Platt/Getty Images. All rights reserved.

Designed by Dean H. Renninger and Libby Dykstra

Edited by Bonne L. Steffen

Published in association with the literary agency of Legacy, LLC, Winter Park, Florida 32789.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the worlds corruption caused by human desires.

2 PETER 1:4

Men today get pulled in every direction by people and society. Everyone has a different expectation for us: be a provider, be tough, be sensitive, dont cry, stay home, go to work, change diapers, go hang out with the boys, dont go hang out with the boys, and so on.

Some have said that being a man today means to be sensitive and caring, to be nurturing, quick to comfort, open to talk. Still others have said that weve been created to explore caves and beat our chests in some sort of masculine cosmic rhythm.

Its easy to get swept along, borne by the current with no idea where youre headed. Sometimes you find yourself miles out from shore with the lighthouse no longer visible. Ive seen it over and over through the years, and Ive even felt the pull myself. There have been plenty of times when Ive looked around and wondered, Now, how did I get here? Where is here? And who are these people floating alongside me?

Unfortunately, that seems to be the path that way too many of us naturally take. A world in which things are accepted as normal without any thought as to whether they should be, or that there might be a better way. Too often we resign ourselves to accepting that things just are the way they are.

In football, when our team isnt playing well, I might say, We have to get back to our fundamentals, referring to those basic principles that allow us to play the game successfullyblocking, tackling, running, catching.

We need to get back to the fundamentals as men as well. The basic principles found there will allow us to succeed as men. We can be certain there will always be obstacles along the way. However, having the fundamentals to fall back on will help us to overcome those obstacles.

And for me, mostif not allof those fundamentals are firmly rooted in Scripture. In fact, I cannot think of a better playbook to help you navigate the game of life.

While I dont pretend to have all the answers, I hope this little book will help ground you in your daily interactions, provide encouragement when life gets difficult, and help you think about where youre headed and who you want to be.

Because the simple truth is, you can be more. In fact, you were created to be more.

Tony Dungy

Self-control. Discipline. Getting in shape.

How many times have you written down these goals when committing to a new program of self-improvement? In a CNN report, it wasnt surprising to learn that losing weight is the most common goal people set. And then we come to our sensesabout a month later.

When I was a player, professional football wasnt a year-round enterprise, and when camp began, some guys would show up totally out of shape.

As followers of Christ, we should maintain self-control and discipline, especially when it comes to taking care of our bodies. Getting in shape and making a commitment to stay that way honors God. He has given us our bodies through the miracle of creation. Taking care of them, watching what we put into them, and being careful about how we use them each day are responsibilities we shouldnt take lightly.

But that mindset is not only important for our physical bodies. That desire and discipline also apply to the training we do and the commitment we make to ourselves and to God. We commit to learn more about Him and about how we can be better disciples. Its not a passive endeavor. It takes resolve and repetition, consistently working at it for maximum results. And results will happen as we grow closer to Him.

Real success in achieving goalsno matter when we set themcomes when we know we cant do it by ourselves and look to the Lord for strength.

No discipline is enjoyable while it is happeningits painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

HEBREWS 12:11

God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

2 TIMOTHY 1:7

All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.

1 CORINTHIANS 9:25

Weve all been tempted to do it, even on a small scale. We want to get back at someone for something theyve done with a snide remark or by criticizing them in front of others. If we havent done it, at least weve thought about doing it. In either case, it only makes the original issue worse. Once anger, frustration, deceit, or cunning ways get a foothold in any situation in our lives, the devil begins to have a field day. There is no telling when we will be able to turn things around, restore the relationshipif everor regain our reputation.

No matter what happens to you, dont compound the problem by trying to get back at whoever did something to you. So often its not the initial issue or incident that gets you into troubleits what happens next. Think about it. How often have you seen the player who retaliates for a cheap shot get the penalty flag thrown on him instead of on the original offender?

It happens all the time in football, and it happens all the time in life. A friend or a spouse says something, and we retaliate angrily. God doesnt think in terms of who said what first or how sinful one persons actions may be when compared with anothers. All sin causes a person to be separated from God because God is holy, He cannot look at sin, no matter how small or how heinous it is.