As coaches, we have a rule on our hockey team. If you get hurt duringplay, you must do your utmost to stay involved in the play or getyourself to the bench. We expect this not because we are hard-nosed ordon’t care about the well-being of our players, but because we expectour athletes to persevere and work through adversity.

Recently, our team was watching two other teams play when one of theplayers was body-checked. The player just lay down on the ice. His teamwas under an offensive attack from the opposition and needed him to getback in the play or get himself to the bench for a substitute. Itappeared that he may not be hurt too badly but that he had, instead,just quit trying when his team needed him. I commented in alight-hearted fashion to our team that the only way we would becarrying one of them off the ice was if they had a broken leg and thatthey’d better do what they could to stay involved, even playing on oneleg if they had to (exaggeration for effect!). At that point one of ourplayers commented about playing on one leg. He said, “Well, God gaveyou a spare!”

Our response to serving God needs to have this same level ofcommitment. When the apostle Paul was writing his letter to the Romans,he quoted the Psalmist who had written about Israel’s sufferingconstant hostility because of their relationship with the Lord: “Yetfor your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep tobe slaughtered” (Psalm 44:22).Paul goes on to encourage us as believers in Christ that “We are morethan conquerors,” and “that neither death nor life, neither angels ordemons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, neitherheight nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able toseparate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

Today, stay in God’s game despite the circumstances. He will alwaysgive you the power of the Holy Spirit to protect and sustain you.