“And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through His Spirit who lives in you.” – Romans 8:11

As coaches, we are affected by unique pressures and stresses in our lives. Coaches are busy people! Thinking back on my early years in coaching, I remember teaching five classes each day, coaching a sport each afternoon and then going home to prepare lesson plans and coaching schedules for the next day. There were papers to grade, film to study and games to play on top of everything else. Throw in church activities, paying the bills, maintaining the yard, spending quality time with your children and serving in the Army Reserves one weekend a month, I wonder how my body held up and my marriage survived. Rest and sanity can be hard to find. There are many good things that we desire to do, but simply don’t have the energy or time to do them. We are overloaded and maxed out. With these kinds of schedules, it’s easy to get discouraged.

Discouragement is one of Satan’s biggest weapons and he is the master of knowing how and when to use it. His most successful attacks come when we are tired and weak. It is then that we are most likely to fall for his lies. He works on our emotions and tries to convince us that we are accomplishing nothing of value. He hammers us with guilt and takes away our ability to think rationally. What can we do when these attacks come? Like a physically tired and stressed athlete goes for the energy drink, we need to reach for a taste of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:11 offers encouragement and tells us that the Holy Spirit will bring our tired and stressed bodies back to life. We can be refreshed and rejuvenated with “new life”. Because the Holy Spirit lives in us, there is never a time when we don’t have everything we need.

Heavenly Father, sometimes the pressure and stress of life can overwhelm us. Teach us the value of rest. Help us to understand that You are all we need. Amen.