Jonathan Evans - Your Time Is Now: Get What God Has Given You

Its a word about timing. A word that releases urgency when you say it or when it is said to you. Youve heard it. Youve said it. You know what it means. No more procrastinating. No more putting it off. No more waiting. No more messing around.

When someone says now, they mean now .

I heard that word at a time when I didnt want to. I had finally reached the highest point of my football career. After hours, weeks, and months of weights, drills, practices, scrimmages, and games for what seemed like an endless cycle of years, I had gotten the call. I had been signed. I had made it to the NFL.

To give you some background before we get going: I had always been the athlete in our family. For those of you who have listened to my dad, Tony Evans, preach, I was the child he would use in many illustrations involving sports. It could be football, basketball, or any other type of athletics. It didnt matter what it was because I had been involved in sports for what seemed like my whole life. My dad had plenty of stories to choose from.

I had started out wanting to be like Michael Jordan, similar to every young athlete growing up at that time. I loved basketball. But right when I entered high school, I transitioned to football. I played at Duncanville High School in Texas, and if you know anything about Texas, high school football is a big deal. Some of the high school stadiums in Texas compare with college stadiums in other states. Friday night lights are everything down here.

At first, Ill admit, I wasnt very good at football. I cant say I did much of anything significant on the field my whole freshman year. In my sophomore year, I did get a little bit better, but I still just played okay. My junior year is when I blossomed. I even started varsity that year. By the time my senior year came around, I had fully developed as a high school player. In fact, I was starting to get some looks. These looks came from Baylor, Texas Christian University, Oklahoma State, University of Oklahoma, and others. These schools kept an eye on me, which made me excited about going to the next level.

As the youngest in our family, I had watched all my siblings move forward toward their visions, whether it was on full scholarships for academics, singing, or something else. I knew I could follow suit with a full scholarship as well. And, as God would have it, He did use my talents as an athlete to get me into Baylor University on a Division 1 football scholarship.

If you are a Baylor fan, I need to point out that this was before Heisman-winning quarterback Robert Griffin III arrived, so we didnt win a lot of games while I was there. I like to say that we were laying the foundation for their greatness to come. But even though we didnt win a lot, I had a pretty good college career. In fact, it was good enough for me to get called up to the NFL. After graduating, I was signed in the 2005 draft by Bill Parcells and the Dallas Cowboys.

There were a lot of great names in the 2005 Dallas Cowboys draft class that you may recognize: DeMarcus Ware, Marion Barber, Marcus Spears, and Jay Ratliff were called out. I was thrilled to be chosen with these young players who had such dominant skills. I felt like I had made it. I had arrived and I was ready for all God had in store. Now was my time!

Little did I know, though, what God actually had in store.

To say that football had become my life by then is to understate it. Football was my go-to, the thing I loved most. My entire focus was football. One of the reasons was because for the first time in my life, I had to fend for myself. I had to fight for my role. My dad and my family carried no influence over whether or not I would remain on the team or even get to play. If I wanted to play, I had to prove myself to the coaches. The silver spoon I had enjoyed the benefit of for the majority of my life had been taken away. In a game like football, every man has to fight not only to get his job, but also to keep it. Whether it is your first game or your tenth year, every player in the NFL is in a constant battle to prove they deserve their spot.

Unfortunately, my first battle didnt last that long. Just two months after being signed, I heard the word that kicked off this chapter. I heard the word that signifies immediacy. Urgency. Movement. I heard... Now .