I have been coaching for more than 20 years. After spending 17 of those coaching at the collegiate level, I decided to step down and enter the “slower paced” high school environment. To my surprise, I found out quickly that teaching and coaching at the high school level was just as challenging, time-consuming and hectic as coaching in college. In some ways, it is even more stressful, as I found myself running ragged trying to get everything done.

These past few years, it has been absolutely non-stop. And it has led me to believe that God is showing me how to “be still” (Psalm 46). More than anything, He has used injuries to get my attention. I have experienced depression, knee surgery, gall bladder surgery, a broken thumb, and neck surgery. And God has certainly used these injuries to get my attention.

At first, I thought God wanted me to slow down. When football started, my time with the Lord diminished, and I was running around so frantically that I often wouldn’t even eat lunch. In time, another surgery surfaced, and God again got my attention and asked me to slow down. I’d been running so fast that I ran right past Him without seeing or hearing Him. With this past surgery on my neck/spine, I believe God told me to STOP. He had to put me flat on my back to teach me a lesson to “be still.”

Sometimes in life, God has to get our attention to remind us that He is God. Certain Scriptures apply specifically to life’s challenges (i.e. Romans 5:3-5 and James 1:2-4), and others remind us that God still loves us even during these circumstances. They remind us to wait for Him and, of course, to be still (i.e. Psalm 46:10, Psalm 27:14, Psalm 37:7, Psalm 23:2, Psalm 33:20, Psalm 40:1).

In my life, God has used these injuries to get my attention and get me to focus on Him. Words such as “be still,” “wait” and “patience” have taught me to see and hear from Him. In life, none of us can see or hear God if we are running so fast through life that we pass Him. Today, whatever it means in your life, wait on the Lord. Be still, and know that He is God.