Straining Towards the Goal

Jimmy Johnson was the coach of the Dallas Cowboys and in 1989, his first year of coaching the team, they had a record of 1 win and 15 losses making them the worst team in the NFL.

Philippians 3:13 tells us, "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead..." And that is exactly what Jimmy Johnson coached. Learn from mistakes - but don't dwell on them and when you lose, plan for the next win.

As we strain toward the goal of living like Christ, we must cast off the old self and put on the new person. Forgetting what is behind, and strain toward what lies ahead.

Eventually the Cowboys won the Super Bowl in 1993 and 1994, 4 years after going 1-15.

As

Knocked Down But Not Knocked Out

Emmitt Smith was a running back in the NFL for 15 years, most of them with the Dallas Cowboys. In his career he ran for over 18,000 yards - that works out to over 10 miles. Considering the number of actual running plays, Emmitt Smith average 4 yards per carry. This means that each time Emmitt ran he was knocked down every 12 feet (on average). And in spite of being tackled every 12 feet, he still managed to amass over 10 miles of yardage in his career.

The apostle Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy while in prison, presumably awaiting execution. Paul had been beaten, stoned and shipwrecked, all for preaching the Gospel. Yet he writes to Timothy, in verse 7, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

Paul's words and Emmitt Smith's career show us that there is a difference between being knocked down and being knocked out.

The enemy, Satan wants us to quit. He wants to knock us out of the game. Keep your eyes focused on the goal, knowing that with Christ's help, you may be knocked down, but you will not be knocked out.