Do you know what God’s way is? Sometimes it can seem like God’s way makes no sense. You think you have it figured out, then BAM! God hits you with a surprise and tells you to trust him. And sometimes we discover that God’s way isn’t our way, or we learn that God’s way isn’t always the easy way.

Following God when we think it doesn’t make sense can sure be difficult. To get a new perspective on how this works, let’s pretend just for a moment, and view life as a hockey game with God as our coach.

It was the very start of the championship game and the home team’s star player sat on the bench. The booing crowd and the play began at the same time, as the players pushed themselves up and down the ice.  

The rising surge from angry fans echoed the sound of the horn that ended the first period.  By the end of the second period, the crescendo of yelling from furious fans rolled through the building as sweat rolled down every exhausted player’s face. The home team, down by one, looked like they were on the verge of collapse.

When the third period started, the star player still rode the bench while the fans stood and loudly booed. But roughly 40 seconds later, the players shifted on the fly and now the star was on the ice with fresh legs – literally flying against the opponent’s second line. Then came the pass, the fake, the burst of speed and the shot that tied the game!

So many days, life can feel like this game. Some of us watch and wonder – what is wrong with this Coach we call God? Some of us scream in anger at God. Some of us play our hearts out, as sweat rolls down our exhausted bodies while we wonder why God doesn’t help us. We struggle, fight and sometimes become dismayed. “Where are you, God?” Is there even a God? “Why have you forgotten me, God?” Why can God’s way be so difficult?

If you’ve ever felt this way about God, you’re not alone.  As the Babylonians burned, ransacked and demolished Jerusalem nearly 600 years before Christ, the psalmist wrote, “Why have you abandoned us like this, O God? Will you be angry with your own people forever?” (Ps 74:1 GNT) As the great walls of Jerusalem were destroyed and her people carted off to Babylon, it seemed there was no answer.

Funny how our powerful, amazing God, understands our questioning.  He even allowed these hard and disturbing questions to be written in his Book.

But when we dive deeper into all this pain and questioning, our eyes can see the truth, “But you, O God, are my king from ages past, bringing salvation to the earth” (Ps 74:12 NLT).

Yes – you, O God, are still the King. You, O God, are still the Creator. You, O God, are still in charge. And you, O God, still bring salvation to the earth – to us – even though we sometimes cannot see the wisdom of what you’re doing.  You, O God, are still the ultimate Coach.

As for the hockey game, the star player literally owned the ice for the entire third period as the other team was absolutely no match for his fresh lungs and strong legs. The coach had privately told his players right from the start, “if we can hang tough with a close score for the first two periods, we will win the game.  Trust me, I know what I’m doing.”

In the same way, when we sweat, worry and play our guts out – just as hard as we can and should – we need to remember that God alone calls the plays. Like the coach, God never asked or needed to consult with us as fans or players because he alone is the ultimate Coach who calls the plays. And in the end, whether we see it coming or not, we are assured of God’s victory.

I for one, want to be on God’s team! I want to play my heart out for him because I know he loves me.  I for one, want to follow God’s way.  God’s way was, still is, and always will be – the way to victory.  God has already won, and simply wants you to join him in the victory party!