If you have ever watched a game of football, undoubtedly, you’ve seen the men in the striped shirts who make sure the game is played according to the rules. They have tools (chains) to help them measure the distance the ball travels on each play; these chains are precisely calibrated to ten yards. Every time the ball is carried, the referees move the chains.
Football games aren’t always won by big plays. Sure, it’s exciting when a quarterback rears back and fires a 70-yard bomb that finds the hands of a gifted receiver, but the team that retains possession of the ball the most usually wins the game.
Now, obviously, life is not a game; it’s a journey, but the same rules apply. The longer you possess life (instead of letting it possess you), each victorious step brings you closer to the goal. Remember, as long as a player has possession of the ball, the other team can only play defense. They cannot score because they aren’t carrying the ball. When you take charge of your life and run with it, making small adjustments as you run, you are advancing—you are moving the chains!
My friends, just like in a big game, there are people who are cheering for you. They want to see you win. On the flip side, unfortunately, there are those who are not rooting for you because they want you to fail. A seasoned veteran knows that and tunes out the jeers of the crowd and the taunting of the opposing team. All the veteran hears is what he believes, all he sees is the goal line, and all he does is hang on to the ball and make the chains move.
Life is often unpredictable. There is rarely a straight line to victory. So, keep pushing forward, yard by yard, if you want to win!
Philippians 3:13-14 “… But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me…”
If you believe you will change the world, don’t ever let anyone deter you from your goal. Keep a granite resolve and never give up…even if it feels like you are not getting very far, and the jeers of others are getting to you. Just keep pushing forward, moving the chains, and before you know it, you’ll be crossing the goal line of your destiny.
—DREAM BIGGER!
Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
God has no fair-haired girls or blue-eyed boys, He loves us all the same, so what are you waiting for? Get back in the game, make the needed adjustments, and move the chains. I am rooting for YOU!
As John F. Kennedy once said, “If Not Us, Who? If Not Now, When?”
Written by: Michael S. Tyrrell
