I love watching football. I love watching those 300-pound linemen push their opponents down the field. The discipline they have to hold their block for 10, 15 or more yards is always very impressive. The power they show and keep throughout a play separates the good from the great.

I have known many players just like this over the years who have had the power to drive their opponents into the ground, but when it comes to other areas of their life they do not have discipline or power. They can’t help but click a mouse and go to Internet sites they don’t need to go to. They have no power to say no to others who want them to drink, do drugs or engage in sexual activities. The discipline on the field is where it stops.

Paul speaks of this battle in Romans 7. Though Paul loves God’s Word, there is a power within him—and each of us—that is at war with the mind. What is this thing that is so powerful that it causes us to struggle so much? It is our sinful nature and desires. And I am as guilty as the next person. As an athlete, I was disciplined to follow through on the given play, game plan or strategy, but off the field the same discipline was not always practiced.

True power is tapping into the only source that can give us the proper desires and discipline to make the necessary changes to do the right things. That power only comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and spending time with Him and growing in Him. Christ will give us the power to stay away from the things that cause us to battle internally. 

If you have the discipline to follow through on your game plan for your team, surely with God’s power you have the discipline to follow His plan for your life. Continue to be plugged in to the only true power source that can make a difference in your life eternally: Jesus Christ!