Seeking God on Thursday
Truly great people have been influenced by other truly great people. John Wooden often talked about a handfull of exemplary people that impressed and motivated him in his own personal development. Among those were his father, Mother Teresa, Abraham Lincoln, and Joshua from the Bible. Joshua, especially, jumped out at me in relation to the following quote from the Coach.
“It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.“
Coach Wooden did not see himself as a great game coach. That is certainly debatable. What he did see was that he must be a great practice coach. And that he was. His passion for game readiness was so thorough that if his team lost the game it was not due to mental and physical preparation. Here’s how Coach explained it:
“I don’t think I was a fine game coach. I don’t think I was a great strategy guy. I think I was a good practice coach…There are three things an athlete must do. You must be in physical condition … You must execute properly and quickly the fundamentals … and you must have eagerness to sacrifice personal interests or glory for the welfare of the team…There is no substitute for hard work. If you’re looking for the easy way, if you’re looking for the trick, you might get by for a while, but you will not be developing the talents that lie within you. There is simply no substitute for hard work.”
As Joshua sought to prepare the Israelites for inhabiting Canaan he stressed the little things that, if adhered to, would result in “big things”. Here’s how he explained it to them:
“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” (Joshua 1:8)
There is simply no substitute for hard work if you want to grow into the person that God wants you to be. The easy way does not exist. It’s when God’s preparation is adhered to, when we obey his gameplan, that our life can be one of fulfillment and victory. John Wooden understood, taught, and lived this as a coach and as a man of God. How prepared are you to meet each day for God?
“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord…the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they revered him all the days of his life…” (Joshua 24 & 5)