God's Great Game Plan

During even the biggest games, a coach’s voice can cut through the noise and chaos of a packed gym and the players will recognize it. It is remarkable to watch athletes in sports like gymnastics, softball or wheelchair basketball instantly comprehend and respond to the words coach’s commands from the sidelines.

The more you get to know the coach (the more time you spend listening to the coach), the easier it is to recognize their voice.

God has been calling out to us since Adam and Eve sinned in the garden. They chose to disobey God and eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, immediately having their eyes open to things God never intended them to see or experience. Instead of calling out for God, they did their best to cover up their sin and hid among the trees (Genesis 3:7-8). 

“So the Lord God called out to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’” -Genesis 3:9

Adam spoke up, explaining why he ate the fruit. He said things he had never said before and felt things he had never felt toward God, whom he knew face to face. After Eve explained her reasoning for eating the fruit, God told them the consequences of their sin. But He didn’t give up on them.

“The Lord God made clothing from skins for the man and his wife, and he clothed them.” -Genesis 3:21

They had earlier tried to cover themselves with fig leaves to hide their sin, but this time, God made coverings for them. The first sacrifice for sin was in the garden, just as the last sacrifice would be in another garden 2,000 years later. Between these two gardens, God continued calling out to His creation through prophets, teachers, creation itself, His Spirit and, eventually, His Son.

“Long ago God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times and in different ways. In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him.” -Hebrews 1:1-2

God’s game plan was for us to be with Him and enjoy everything He had stored up for us through His love. But we chose to take our own paths and do things our own way, opening ourselves up to things that God never intended for us to experience. And yet He continues to pursue us, to want us, to choose us. He loves us so much that He’d continually call out to us in crowded places.

In fact, our God sent His own Son into the game with us. 

This is the Gospel. We’re all flailing in life and sin, in line for death and the grave, and God became a man to lead us to exactly what our hearts long for and need—His warm presence. God enters the game with us. He is Immanuel, God with us, calling out to us on the sideline (Father and Coach), calling out next to us (the Son and Teammate) and speaking within us (the Spirit). All of this is because He still believes in His game plan and that is the play He is running.

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” -John 1:14

God includes us in his great game plan to save the world. He includes us first by saving us, then by sending us out to bring others in. He is the Great Coach, the Great Teammate and precisely what your heart is longs for today.

Maybe you feel like your mistake on the court can’t be erased from God’s mind. Perhaps you feel like you’ve lost the game, and He doesn’t want anything to do with you. Believe me when I say this: He loves you. He changes us as we stay close to Him and trust Him to be God. We can come to Him just as we are and learn His voice. 

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Live It Out:

Quarter Verse – “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” –John 1:14 

Question – Are you listening to the Coach? Have you looked up from your mistakes to see Him as a Teammate next to you? Are you abiding by the playbook? How much better would your “game” be if you trusted and obeyed God instead of insisting on your way?    

Challenge – What is God leading you to change in your life so you can focus more on His plan and not yours? Ask Him about it and look for chances to trust Him today.

*If you read this article and aren’t in relationship with Christ yet but would like to know more, we invite you to go through FCA’s The FOUR, which explains how an everlasting and fulfilling life with God is possible.

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