Joe Gibbs - Game Plan for Life CHALK TALKS

Commit to the L ORD whatever you do,
and he will establish your plans.
P ROVERBS 16:3

From the time I was a young kid in middle school my hope was to one day become a professional football player I loved competing against other teams and taking on challenges with my teammates. Later, at San Diego State, it became clear to me that although I was a decent football player, I just didnt have the skill it would take to become a great professional player. I set my sights on coaching instead, starting as a graduate assistant at SDSU under Aztec head coach Don Coryell. Pat and I have never looked back coaching is one of the things I was created to do.

One thing I love about coaching is that there is no mystery at the end of a game. The scoreboard says it all when that clock runs out and your sixty minutes are up, the only thing that matters is the final score. Someone wins; someone loses. I was fortunate to win a few Super Bowls as the head coach of the Washington Redskins and to end my football career with a winning record. Along the way I learned a lot from those wins, but I learned a lot from the losses as well. I believe that God used my experience in the NFL to impact the way I look at life.

As a coach, I view life as a game. You and I are the players. When our life on earth is over, theres going to be a scoreboard. Matthew 16:27 puts it like this, For the Son of Man is going to come in his Fathers glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. If youre like me, you want to be on the winning team when the clock stops. The game of life is the most important game youll ever play, and whether you win or lose there will be eternal consequences.

How do we make sure were on the winning team? Well, if we are in a game, we have to have a coach. I believe our head coach in the game of life is God. Does a good coach just put his team on the field and say, Go get em, guys Do your best I hope you win? Nope. He wants the best for his players and crafts a specific game plan for them to succeed. I believe that God has given us the perfect game plan, which we can find in His playbook, the Bible.

In my experience, every time I veer away from Gods game plan I run into trouble, even disaster. On the other hand, when Im careful to trust Him and follow His playbook, I find success maybe not in terms of wins and losses, but in the sense of being at peace knowing that the outcome is in the hands of God who loves me deeply and always wants the best for me. In Romans 8:28 we read, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.