Ready:
“‘Isn’t Ephraim a precious son to me, a delightful child? Whenever I speak against him, I certainly still think about him. Therefore, my inner being yearns for him; I will truly have compassion on him.’ This is the LORD’s declaration.” -예레미야 31:20
Set:
In the text for today, “Ephraim” is used as a figure for all of Israel. The Israelites could be described as the prodigal son of the Old Testament. Israel belonged to God, but they became entangled with other idols, following after the beliefs and customs of neighboring cultures. They were supposed to be God’s chosen people and yet they chose everything but Him. Page after page of the Old Testament the same cycle: sin, repent and God would forgive them. And yet, look at what the LORD says to the prophet Jeremiah: “a precious son to me, a delightful child.” These words are the words of a loving Father towards His imperfect child.
I believe they can also be applied to the relationship between a coach and athlete.
How many times has a coach raised their voice at you? Or if you’re a coach, how many times have you spoken against a rebellious player? In both of these scenarios, the coach is after the ultimate good of the athlete, whether the athlete feels it in the moment or not. Just like with Ephraim, all God did to discipline and bring back the people of Israel was for their ultimate good. He chose to not give up on them. God shows us the right attitude to have towards those who make life rough on the team. And God was able to do this not because of the attitude and actions of Israel, but because of His own character. It came from a place within Him (Romans 5:8).
We don’t wait for others to finally act the right way for us to treat them well. We lean on the character of God to guide us in those situations. If He could feel this way about Israel and eventually us, then how could we treat the difficult people in our lives any differently?
Hard words from a soft heart. God called the Israelites to a higher standard. May we as coaches do the same with our athletes, with the same love God shows us in the verses for today. As athletes may we receive the instruction and grace our coaches are trying to show us.
Go:
How does the imagery of God’s heart yearning for Ephraim even as He was speaking against them change your view of Him when you’ve failed or gone down a wrong path?
In what ways can you live out God’s perspective of tenderly yearning for the rebellious in your life and on your team?
Workout:
Overtime:
“Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me despite my shortcomings and disobedience. I pray I never get over Your perfect love for an imperfect person like me. In Jesus’ name, amen.”