Two Minute Drills from Coach Joe Gibbs

[Judy Harder]

It's What I Love about You

There's something in men that wants their wife to be beautiful, not just to enjoy a pleasant face across the dinner table, but to impress others with the kind of woman they were able to attract. There's something in fathers that wants their daughters to be the kind the other boys think is pretty, somehow sharing indirectly in their children's popularity.

But as men saved from proving ourselves acceptable to God through external shows of behavior, we should know better than anyone that outward appearances are not what make a person beautiful. Just as holiness is what "adorns" the house of the Lord (Psalm 93:5), our eye for beauty in our wives and our daughters should be for the fire of Christian character shining through their lives. Holiness should be what "adorns" our house as well.

Our wives should be the most beautiful to us when they're bowed in prayer on the side of the bed, or scribbling notes in their Bible margins at church, wanting to get God's truth deeper and deeper into their hearts. Our daughters should never be better looking than when they're taking stands for purity, or listening to worship music on their iPods, or honoring their mother by obeying a bit of parental instruction, even if it's unpopular with their friends. As husbands and fathers, we should be quick to praise what we see Christ doing in our family members' lives, letting them know that it means more to us than anything.

Pray this prayer: Lord, retrain my mind to honor what you honor, to love what makes you the most delighted in us. Help me want nothing more for my wife and children than to love you with all their hearts.

[Judy Harder]

Valuable Observations

Have you ever noticed that a five percent raise doesn't really change much in your take-home pay? Aren't you just as hungry for breakfast the morning after a $50.00 meal as after a $5.00 one? How many of the items in your garage or attic once served a useful purpose inside your actual living space? And why do all of us know these things to be true?

Because we've seen them. We've lived them. If there's one thing we know about money and the things it can buy, it's the fact that we routinely overvalue them. We expect them to be so much more than they typically turn out to be. So God tells us in His Word to give "careful thought" to this: "You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it" (Haggai 1:5-6).

Don't just know this. Do something with it.

What habits do you need to discontinue based on this common-sense information? How should this insight affect the way you parent or counsel your children? What kind of character traits would have more room to grow in you if you based more of your decisions on this? When money lessons become life lessons, they can do more than just impact your shopping and saving patterns. They can go to work in your heart.

Pray this prayer: Father, I pray for the wisdom to be more thoughtful than I usually am—to base my life on the truths you've so clearly shown us, rather than acting like they don't apply to me.

[Judy Harder]

Rx for Worry

Live long enough, and you'll find yourself in a thin hospital gown, crawling up on the table for some kind of test procedure. You'll wait by the phone for the results, trying not to worry but unable to keep from wondering what you'll do if it's bad.

Is there a game plan for this kind of situation?

Let's just say that one of the blessings of living in daily fellowship with God is developing a settled heart. You realize your salvation is accomplished and complete. You recognize how many things are beyond your control. And you begin to understand that trusting him is a lot more effective than fretting and losing sleep. He takes care of you either way. So why waste the nervous energy?

Inner peace is not a formula. It's not treating God like a good-luck charm. It's about spending time reading His Word. Praying when you could be listening to sports radio. Talking to him instead of talking to yourself. Relationship, not ritual. Try it consistently for a month, and you'll look back a few weeks from now amazed at the amount of perspective and security he's given you. You'll be more like a man who has "no fear of bad news," whose "heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord" (Psalms 112:7).

Want to be ready for that next trip to the doctor? Then run your laps, watch your portions . . . and start relying on the Great Physician to get you through each day.

Pray this prayer: Lord, I waste so much of my time worrying about things you're already taking care of. I long for a settled, peaceful heart—one that's ready for trouble because I've been trusting you all along.

[Judy Harder]

Sailing in the Current

Are you happy where you are? Happy with your job and your prospects for growth? Happy with your home life, whether married or single? Happy with the house you live in? Happy with the car you drive? Happy with much of anything right now in terms of where you'd like to be?

When God allowed a Babylonian king to swoop into Israel and cart the Hebrews off into exile, you can be sure they weren't very happy. They'd lost their homes, lost their security, lost their ties to everything they owned. But as a way of further growing their character and painting their future with promise, God gave his people these instructions: Build houses there. Start a family there. Work for the good of your neighbors there. Make the most of this unwanted season by bearing fruit in an unhappy place.

"For I know the plans I have for you," God told them, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11). But don't expect these promising days just to kick in as payback because you've been suffering for a while. Don't expect to build much on the backs of your constant complaining. Commit to doing something special even in the midst of your current situation. And you'll find that those "plans" for a "hope and a future" required the relationships you built, the work you invested, and the contentment you chose in the present. Dig in to dig out.

Pray this prayer: Lord, you know I'm not very happy right now. But I'm going to take your advice and let you grow me here. Thank you for not letting me waste my experiences—even these experiences.

[Judy Harder]

Job Hazards

We know what kind of violent insults can be hurled at coaches whose teams miss the playoffs for a second season in a row. We hear of even college players—nineteen and twenty year-olds, remember—getting death threats after throwing more interceptions than touchdowns.

But in their own way, any unfair complaints you may be enduring on the job right now are just as damaging and hurtful as these. Perhaps your upper level management is making it nearly impossible for you to succeed. Maybe a coworker or employee with an axe to grind is bad-mouthing you every chance he gets. A customer whose order was delayed—just this one time—is talking you down to those who could take you down.

People can misunderstand. They can take things out of context. They can see something they don't like about you and never leave the door open for a second impression, no matter how hard you try to please them. "Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets" (Psalm 55:11).

But as for you, keep showing up for work on time with all your personal skills in playing shape. Do your best to treat others fairly, learn from criticism, control your anger. Then just "cast your cares on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall" (Psalm 55:22). You don't have to beat them. You just need to know where your true victory lies.

Pray this prayer: Lord, I've really been under attack lately, and I'm getting tired of it. But you certainly know—much better than I do—how it feels to be mistreated. Help me learn how to handle this well.

[Judy Harder]

All God's Children

Even though America has come a long way in terms of race relations—far more than many other countries of the world—stereotypes do still exist. Perhaps there are some people you'd rather not have as neighbors. Certain nationalities draw your suspicions. They have customs and habits that feel—(to use a fitting word)—"foreign" to you.

But while home and family and patriotism are each good things, we must always be careful about letting natural mind-sets overrule biblical ones. Just because a bigoted attitude of yours is embraced and encouraged by your friends doesn't mean it's the right one for you to have. When you have an automatic, negative reflex that lights up whenever you see a person of another race or national origin, you're assuming a superiority that isn't really there.

And you're forgetting that one reason why heaven is so heavenly is because it's the biggest melting pot of all.

"After this I looked," the apostle John said, "and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb" (Revelation 7:9). This preview of heaven's population simply cannot be allowed to land on our ears and not logically affect the way we treat people whose heritage and skin color are different from ours. Jesus Christ can rule in anyone's heart. Let's make sure he's ruling in ours.

Pray this prayer: I ask you, Lord, to take an axe to my prejudices, that I would not look down on anyone, but would rather be dedicated like never before to your call to make disciples of all nations.

[Judy Harder]

Can You See Me?

It used to just be celebrities who had to live with the possibility that someone could be filming or taking pictures of them at any moment. But today, we're all fairly accustomed to knowing that a camera is likely trained on us at every store entrance, every ATM machine, perhaps even when we're trying to decide whether to run through a yellow light or not.

We're a watched society—which can be troubling when we imagine how far some people could take these surveillance capabilities. But be that as it may, there's an element of this that keeps us accountable. It keeps us honest, keeps us careful of our actions. In fact, it's sort of a reminder that God's cameras are always rolling—that he sees it all, even when no one else is looking. "For a man's ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all his paths" (Proverbs 5:21).

We may not always be happy about that. There are parts of our average day that we'd just as soon keep private. But the fact that he's watching is true just the same. Our job is to live in such a way that this knowledge is more comforting than convicting—to be glad that he "sees what is done in secret" (Matthew 6:6), to know that our desire is to please him and stay in close fellowship with him every minute of the day.

Pray this prayer: Help me remember, Lord, that my life is an open book before you. Let this knowledge both change and challenge me. I want to be your kind of man all the time.

[Judy Harder]

The Dignity of Man

Do you ever go through seasons when you just don't feel like your life counts for very much? Everything seems about as pointless as a first-quarter NBA score in November. People treat you with less interest than a flight attendant's lecture on oxygen masks and exit doors.

But what's easy to forget at times like these is that your value is not something other people can assign to you. They don't get to grade this. You have been given great worth by your Creator. Your significance is inborn.

Think of the dignity you possess, merely by being a product of God's design. You're able to reason and make choices. You can appreciate beauty and feel emotion. You have the ability within your reach to bless others, to extend your influence and impact into another person's life.

You have even been given the privilege of communicating with your heavenly Father—a right he wasn't obligated to offer you, but one he freely extends because of his rich, abiding love for you. Everything about you has been "woven together" in his all-wise mind and heart. Each day of your life has been "written" down by the one who made you. (Psalms 139:15-16). That's how valuable you are to him.

Instead of being bombarded by all the ways life has mistreated you or what a mess you've made, make this a day to celebrate what God has invested in you. You are worth far more than you realize.

Pray this prayer: I do get down on myself a lot, Lord. I have a hard time imagining that you love me. Would you remind me today? I could really use that.

[Judy Harder]

Breakdown or Breakthrough?

There are certain sins and temptations that take all the strength you can muster. You push them out of your mind one minute, only to see they're back the next. They're like a fly in the house—buzzing and darting, landing out of sight, then zooming by again just when you'd forgotten about it.

Sometimes these sinful pulls and attractions will leave for a few days, a few weeks, maybe even months at a time. We think maybe we've licked them. But then they show up again. We feel our back stiffen. We're not confident we can sustain another assault.

But how about looking at it differently this time? The Bible teaches us that temptation is a test. In other words, it's a signal that God is up to something. A prize awaits on the other side—new spiritual ground, new spiritual muscles. So by leaning hard on the Lord to get us through unscathed, we won't just be scoring a single, isolated victory; we'll be letting him inch us closer to opportunities that have been sitting out there all along, just waiting on our obedience.

The Bible says "we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). So the next time you find yourself facing one, keep your eyes not only on winning, but on where winning could take you. You already know what losing can cost you. See if that doesn't give you the toughness to stand strong.

Pray this prayer: Lord, I don't understand why you allow temptation to be so difficult sometimes. But I'm believing that you have great things in store if I'll pass this test. Be there to get me through.

[Judy Harder]

Reversing the Trend

Whether from being left untended or from constant use, things will always be inclined to grow old and deplete. Knees will start to ache and catch. Tires will wear thin. Gaskets will leak. Organization will trend toward chaos. The deodorant stick will shrink smaller and smaller. Clothes will wrinkle. Dust will accumulate. It's the nature of life. Downhill. Showing age.

It's even the nature of marriage. What starts with candlelight, tuxedo, and a minister's blessing slowly gives way to the late local news, complaints about your snoring, and fixing yourself the last piece of toast for breakfast. Where's a little romance when you need it? Probably not under warranty.

So whether you like it or not, today will be another battle against bone loss, systems malfunction, and tooth decay. And to keep the same sorts of erosion from happening in your home, the Bible offers the following prescription: "encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness" (Hebrews 3:13) . . . or by life's constant drain and desire to drag you down, if not drag you apart.

Marriage may never outgrow a few toilet seat disagreements. But yours can withstand and even counteract the effects of time and age. A little encouragement from you today can go a long way.

Pray this prayer: God, help me not to stand by while my marriage loses any more of its luster. Give me the kind of heart that keeps loving, keeps investing. Show me the best way to bless my wife today.