Sometimes your game plan goes well, and sometimes when you try it, it doesn’t work. In sports, you learn to adapt. But when plans don’t go your way, it can feel like an unwelcome surprise.
Hinata knows how scary and discouraging a change of plans can feel. She is learning that sometimes God wants something different than what we planned. The good news is that God is in control, and he loves you. Like King Solomon, who wrote today’s verse, you can look to God for wisdom and trust him to lead the way.
“We make our own plans, but the LORD decides where we will go.”
Proverbs 16:9 (CEV)
The Teammates
Hinata
Sport: Blind athletics
I went blind when I was nine. When I started going to a school for visually impaired people, I was amazed to discover that blind children could participate in sports like cricket, swimming, baseball, soccer, and track and field. I began athletics when I was 11.
Recently, I was disqualified from a competition for the first time. After that, I became afraid it would happen again. The fear began to take away my love for athletics. But I came to the realization that I couldn’t allow one failure to control my future. I needed to give control to God instead of to my fear.
I have learned that my plans do not always match God’s plans. Sometimes I need to let go of my plans, and I always need to allow God to lead me. That can be scary, but I have experienced God’s faithfulness when I trust him to guide my steps.
Sport has taught me to keep trusting God when I experience fear, failure, or have to wait for his answer. I have learned not to give up, but to keep moving forward in faith!
Solomon, King of Israel
When Solomon became king of Israel after his father David, he knew that God already had a plan for his life. God had told David that Solomon would be the one to build the temple, the place where God’s people would go to worship. This was an important job, and so was being king. So God offered Solomon a gift of anything he wanted, and Solomon asked God to give him wisdom. God was pleased by Solomon’s choice and made him the wisest man to ever live. That’s why he wrote most of the book of Proverbs, which are wise sayings to live by. While Solomon’s life took many turns and was far from perfect, he trusted God to use him to lead the people of Israel in wisdom and worship.
The Connection
We’re made in God’s image, which means we can think ahead, reason, and practice wisdom, which are all a part of making plans. In other words, it’s a good thing to make plans! But like Hinata, we must remember that God is in control of our future, not us. This can be freeing, because he is so much wiser and more capable than we are! Like King Solomon, we can discover that God’s plans for us go beyond anything we could ever imagine.
For the Players
Reflect: What part of Hinata’s story is challenging, and what part is encouraging?
Share: Who do you know that has gone through a change of plans recently? Ask if you can pray for them!
Take a moment to pray:
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your sovereignty and wisdom,
For establishing the steps of those who put their trust in you. (Proverbs 16:9)
You know that I want many things
And that I have made many plans for my life,
Yet as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are your ways higher than my ways
And your thoughts higher than my thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9)
Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
Teach me your paths. (Psalm 25:4)
Don’t let me follow my own ways,
But lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:24)
As I submit to the wisdom of your ways,
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)
Amen.
Press in! Take a moment to read: Romans 8:28
Want more on this topic? Check out Jeremiah 29:11 – When You Don’t Get What You Want
For Coaches and Parents
Read aloud with your team or athlete!
Hinata says that being disqualified once has caused her to be afraid it could happen again. And she’s right—it could happen again. Our hopes and plans can change and keep changing.
A question for the team/athlete:
What’s something you’ve experienced that you’re afraid will happen again?
(Allow a few responses from the team/athlete, then read the follow-up message.)
Follow-up:
Here’s the good news: the verse says that God has a plan. This is the same God who loved us so much that he sent his only son to die for our sins so we could live forever with him. He is trustworthy. He wants us to make wise plans, and when they don’t go our way, he wants us to trust that he has something better for us. Sometimes, it might take a while for us to see it. But be encouraged: following God’s game plan always leads to a win!
