I learned early on in my inauspicious and underwhelming basketball career that sometimes the coach says, “Sit down”. He says it in different ways – “take a break”, “have a seat”, “let someone else have a turn” or “What was that, Roberts????” – but it always means the same thing…sit down.
When such orders come down from the man with the clipboard, there is no arguing. The decision is made. You can sulk, fume, rant or beg, but none of it works. It’s time for you to have a seat on the bench.
I hate the bench…
The bench is the place of waiting…
I hate waiting.
What is true on the court is also true in our lives. Sometimes God tells us to sit down, and He is just as deliberate as our old coach. He takes us out of the game for a reason. Sometimes it’s for correction, sometimes it’s for training, sometimes it’s for the good of the team, and sometimes it’s because He sees how tired you’ve become. He gives you a high five, a stern look or an instructional aside and then he points to the place of waiting. It’s time for you to sit down.
How do you handle that? How do you handle waiting? How do you handle letting someone else take your place? How do you handle sitting when all you want to do is run?
Things are changing for me. I’m learning to value the bench. I miss the action, I want to help, I can’t wait to get in the game, but I know the bench is here for a reason. And I know that God has a plan for me.
He has a plan for you, too.
So, we’ll wait. We’ll wait and learn. We’ll study the game while we're on the bench; we’ll support the team while we're on the bench; we’ll wave towels, fill water bottles and cheer like crazy while we're on the bench. But, most importantly, we’ll be ready. We’ll be ready when God calls our number. We'll be more ready than we ever thought possible because the bench is what we needed all along.
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