Coaches want to tell their athletes exactly what needs to be dsone and have confidence they’ll do it. Athletes want coaches to be direct. They want to know exactly what play to run. They don’t want surprises. Knowing exactly what is expected is how athletes focus on what they have to do.

David gave Solomon this kind of direction in 1 Kings. David knew his time on earth was almost up. He knew Solomon would need to focus in order to prepare for what was coming. David gave Solomon very direct expectations for his life.

We can take these same directions and apply them to our lives today. When we take “Coach” David’s to-do list and apply it to our lives, we will have the focus we need to succeed in the game of life.
 

Recently, I made a pretty significant change in my life. After working for the same company for more than 11 years, I changed jobs. It was a really hard decision—one I agonized over for weeks. I wasn’t unhappy in my job, and I worked for and with some amazing people. I hadn’t even thought about leaving, but another opportunity came along and I really started thinking about possibly making a change. The old line “It’s not you; it’s me” was really true in this case.

But I realized that I’d become comfortable. Too comfortable. And not just in my job. I was too comfortable in my prayer life, in my faith walk, and in my daily Scripture study. I wasn’t challenging myself to have a deeper, closer relationship with Christ.