‘But ultimately in His plan, it brings glory’

Sometimes things happen in life and there’s simply not a human explanation as to why.

What good could possibly come from this? Why would God allow something like this to happen? Why do bad things happen to people have faithfully served the Lord?

These can be very difficult questions to answer. Many times, we don’t really have an answer. At least not an answer that makes anyone feel much better.

Those questions started circling through my mind again over this past week during a very challenging week for our church family at Long Hollow in Hendersonville, TN.

Chris Swain, who was the Disciple-Making pastor at Long Hollow and dedicated his life’s work to serving Christ in whatever capacity was needed. Swain and Robby Gallaty, the pastor at Long Hollow, were practically inseparable and were best friends. They were planning on going to a baseball game together on the night of Friday, July 9 and Swain was taking his dog, Emmitt, to the mailbox around 5:30 p.m.

The neighbors later found Swain by the mailbox and he was unresponsive. They immediately began to perform CPR and called for paramedics. After nearly a week in the hospital, Swain passed away at the age of 47 on Thursday, July 15. He is survived by his wife, Melissa, and their two children.

How do you even begin to process something like that? Chris was a healthy guy who was in the prime of his life. He had a wonderful family and was experiencing revival in his ministry and at our church at Long Hollow. Why would God allow something like this to happen to someone like Chris?

It was the revival that we had all experienced together that I thought was going to make this story have a happier ending. When we came together as a church family on Sunday, July 11, we knew that Chris’ prognosis wasn’t good. Robby, our pastor, had asked all of us to pray for Chris and was going to the hospital to pray over him and anoint him with oil at 2 p.m.

I’ve always known and believed that it’s possible for God to heal. Intellectually, that has always been something that I’ve been able to process. But man, I really believed we were going to see it happen with Chris. I mean truly believed it. With every fiber of my being. And in a way that I’ve never experienced before. And I wasn’t alone. We had thousands of people praying across the world for Chris Swain to be healed.

In order to understand that, you’ve got to understand what God has been doing at our church this year. We’ve seen more than 1,000 people get baptized since the end of December in 2020, including my wife. We’ve seen people who were addicted to drugs be set free. We’ve seen people who used to worship Satan be radically transformed by Jesus. We’ve seen wayward sons and daughters come home. We’ve seen a passion for Jesus sweep through our church in a way unlike I’ve ever experienced before. It’s been like something out of the book of Acts.

I just truly believed that God was going to heal Chris Swain. And then He didn’t. And then all of those questions start to creep back into your mind.

But God is the same God today as He was when our revival began. And He never promises that the road is going to be easy.

Hebrews 11:32-40 lays it out perfectly.

“And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the raging of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight. Women received their dead, raised to life again. Other people were tortured, not accepting release, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Others experiences mockings and scourgings, as well as bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they died by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, destitute, afflicted and mistreated. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and on mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground. All these were approved though their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us.”

The first part of this group of verses talks about champions of the faith who were rescued and experienced miraculous events that only God could provide. The second part shows that some were not rescued. Some struggled. Some were not released. Some died. And ALL were approved through their faith.

I had several conversations with Chris over the course of the past couple of years even though we only met together in person just a few times. The first time that I ever met him I felt like I had already known him for years. He and Robby did a weekly podcast that had become my favorite thing to listen to.

In my first meeting with Chris, he and I sat down for about 30 minutes and recorded an interview for my podcast on discipleship and why that was so important in today’s church. During that interview, I asked Chris how he would explain the impact that his relationship has had on his life. Here was his response:

“I would say that it’s radically changed by life,” Swain said. “I would say that the life that I had prior to Christ, where it was headed, is nothing like the life that I have now. I’ve been a believer for 27, 28 years now so it’s been a long time. In the midst of that, I looked at who I was before Christ and what God has done in my life after I began to follow Jesus and be a disciple of Christ, I’ve seen many of the same mistakes of people who don’t follow Jesus make. But at the same time, always present with me, is knowing that Christ is working in my life to do something that is going to bring him glory. It’s constantly been one of those things that even in the midst of tough times or struggles, I’ve had all of the same issues and problems and struggles that everybody else has had, but in the midst of all those it’s knowing that as a believer there’s something more and there’s something different beyond just what we are experiencing and what we have. I would say it’s been a radical shift and change in my life in pursuing and following Christ, but just experiencing life differently.

“It’s looking at things knowing that there’s a much bigger picture and knowing what God is doing and what he’s bringing about is so much more critical and important than the small and……I don’t want to say insignificant because I think that can belittle some people……but compared to what God is doing, insignificant things in essence. But He loves us and wants the best for us. The challenge for us is we want what we think is the best for us when in fact God knows what’s best. And it may not be something that’s awesome. It may be a tough and difficult and challenging life. But ultimately in His plan, it brings glory. It’s knowing and finding hope in that I think that has been the biggest difference.”

The final part of that quote hit me right in the face today as I was writing this. “And it may not be something that’s awesome. It may be a tough and difficult and challenging life. But ultimately in His plan, it brings glory.”

As I sat today at Chris’ funeral service, it was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Sure, there were tears. And sure, there was sadness. But man, was there so much joy and hope in knowing exactly where Chris is right now.

We laughed. We sang together. We prayed together. And we worshipped the Lord. Just like Chris would’ve wanted us to do. There is so much freedom and joy that comes with being able to rest in the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Chris Swain knew that well.

Acts 13:36 reads:

“For David, after serving God’s purpose in his own generation, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers and decayed….”

That’s not typically a verse that comes to mind when you think of somebody’s “life verse.” But that was Chris Swain’s life verse. He was all about serving Christ and His purpose. And one day we’ll get to see him again in the presence of the Lord.

We may never know exactly why Chris was taken from this earth at the age of 47. But after a week of wondering why, today I came to the realization that, you know what……I don’t need to know why. “But ultimately in His plan, it brings glory.”

That was good enough for Chris Swain. And that’s good enough for me. I will trust in the Lord, who is the same yesterday, today and forevermore.

See you soon, Chris.

One touch that spoke louder than any words

I was thinking about this today when preparing to write this piece…..how often have we read the Bible and come across a passage where a miracle was performed and just glossed right over it without thinking about it?

It probably happens more than we realize. At least it does for me.

One such example was recently brought to life for me in a new way. I was watching “The Chosen”, which was a wonderful show that I really enjoyed that focuses in on the life of the apostles as they discover who Jesus is and begin their walk with him. One of the scenes in the show is where Jesus heals a leper.

I’ve either read or heard about this story dozens and dozens of times but in truth I’ve always just read it and thought to myself “Wow, that’s really cool. Jesus just heals him right there like it’s nothing and he goes on his way.” But there’s a lot more to it than that.

The encounter is described in Matthew 8:1-4 after Jesus had delivered the Sermon on the Mount:

“When he came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. Right away a man with leprosy came up and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Reaching out his hand, Jesus touched him, saying, “I am willing; be made clean.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Then Jesus told him, “See that you don’t tell anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

Where Matthew picks things up here in chapter 8, Jesus has lots of people following him, many of whom have just heard him teach the greatest sermon of all time, the Sermon on the Mount.

I think to really understand the impact of what happens next, you have to understand exactly what it meant to have leprosy during those days. Leprosy was a debilitating disease that had no hope of improvement during that time. It slowly ate away at people’s bodies, leaving ugly scars and rashes and blisters. It could last many years and eventually lead to death.

Lepers were treated extremely poorly during those times. People shunned them. You were to stay six feet away from them at least (sound familiar?) and they were basically seen as subhuman. Leprosy was viewed as a punishment and a representation of sin.

This man had no hope in his life. He knew that nobody wanted to associate themselves with him. He knew that there wasn’t anything that doctors could do about his condition. And yet despite being surrounded by people who viewed him as the scum of the earth, he recognized Jesus for who he was.

His faithfulness and hope that he placed in Jesus is amazing to me. “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” This man knew full well that Jesus had the ability to heal him. But he didn’t demand that Jesus do this for him. He humbly submitted to the will of his Savior.

The next few words of what Jesus did next seem so mundane, but I think they are some of the most powerful words in the New Testament and sum up exactly who Jesus is. Matthew says, “Reaching out his hand, Jesus touched him.”

Think about the WEIGHT of that. Nobody wanted to even come close to this man, much less touch him. Jesus didn’t care about any of that. He willing reached out his hand to touch the man and cleanse him of his disease.

It’s no accident that Matthew used that phrase to describe the action that Jesus was taking. By touching the man, Jesus was showing him that he had power over his disease. He was different than those in society who looked down on the man and scorned him. Jesus did not have to touch the man to heal him. He’s God. He can heal him in whatever way he wants. But he purposefully chose to reach out and touch the man and show him that he was truly cleansed.

That’s an illustration of the compassion that our Savior has for all of us. Even someone who was a total outcast to the world around him was shown love and favor by Jesus Christ.

One of the main things I take away from this story is the submission to Jesus’ will by this man. He had the head knowledge that Jesus had the ability to cleanse him. But what really separated this man was his heart. He fully submitted himself and his future to the will of Jesus.

How many of us have the head knowledge of what Jesus can do and who Jesus is but don’t follow that up with a heart for submitting to the will of the Lord? How much more fruitful could our lives be if we submitted to the will of the Lord on a daily basis?

There will be times in this world, especially in today’s age, where people look down upon you because of your faith. They will scorn you. They will mock you. They will attack you for your beliefs. But the chief concern for those of us who follow Jesus should be to submit to the will of our Lord. Every time. And trust that his will is always greater than anything we could hope for on our own.

May I have your attention, please?

God is trying to get the attention of our nation. The question we all must answer on an individual basis is: Has he gotten your attention yet through this pandemic?

As I sit here and gather my thoughts on what we’ve witnessed in the United States since the outbreak of COVID-19, my brain drifts back to the sovereignty of God. It drifts to the illusion that all of us fall victim to in our own lives….the illusion of having control.

Think about what’s been happening. Many of the things that have consumed our daily lives in America for years have been uprooted during the past few months.

That job that occupies so much time, energy and devotion in our lives? Many have lost that job. Trust me, I know.

Those sporting events, teams and athletes that we idolize? Totally put on hold.

Even something as seemingly simple as gathering together to worship the Lord in a singular location with other believers, something that we in the United States take for granted in a big way, was stripped away for many of us.

Some of us haven’t even been able to spend time with loved ones in months because we don’t want to potentially endanger those who may be vulnerable.

All of these things that were once a routine part of our lives that we didn’t even think about have been drastically changed almost instantaneously. Aren’t you grateful that we serve a God who never changes? Could it be that God is trying to teach us something through this pandemic?

This isn’t the first time a pandemic has swept the globe and it probably won’t be the last time. The loss of life that has been inflicted by COVID-19 has been tragic. But even if you haven’t known anyone who has contracted the disease or you haven’t experienced it yourself, this should be a time for deep introspection into your own life.

Have your priorities shifted at all through this? What has the Lord shown you during this time? I think about those two questions in my own life, and I come back to the word “control.”

As Christians, we always say that we believe God is in control. If you’re like me, you believe those words but are still guilty on almost a daily basis of trying to control as much as you can in your own life. I want the best for myself in my career. I want the best marriage that I can possibly have. I want to be able to make decisions that control which direction my life is headed.

Perhaps the biggest lesson I’m learning — and I mean truly learning — is that when it really boils down to it, I don’t have control of much of anything. I’ve often been guilty of moving too fast in life, not taking the time to slow down and appreciate the many blessings that the Lord has given me in my life.

I hope that as we continue to move forward through this pandemic that I’ll grow in my appreciation of what the Lord has given me in my life and also realize that his grace is what sustains me. And he is the one who is truly in the driver’s seat in my life. All that we need to do is follow his lead.

What is the Lord showing you during this pandemic? If you don’t have an answer for that, maybe it’s time to slow down and shift your perspective. Ask God to make clear to you the message that he has for you.

Don’t let it be said of us that we got to the other side of this pandemic and remained unchanged.

Hamhuis not defined by his career but by his identity in Christ

For Nashville Predators defenseman and 16-year NHL veteran Dan Hamhuis, discovering what it meant to have a true relationship with Jesus Christ has laid the foundation for every aspect of his life.

Hamhuis grew up in a Christian home and regularly attended church throughout his childhood. Even when he left home to continue his hockey career at the junior level in Prince George, church was still a normal part of his life.

After being drafted by the Predators and beginning his first year of professional hockey with the Milwaukee Admirals in the 2002-03 season, Hamhuis found himself at a point of deep spiritual introspection. He had more freedom than he’d ever had before, being on his own in a new city that was far away from where he grew up. That presented challenges that allowed him to grow in his faith.

“The biggest transition for me was when I went to play pro hockey my first year in Milwaukee,” Hamhuis said. “That’s when it really struck me. Now I was living on my own far away. No one was going to know if I went to church or not. Up to that point, I would say I was religious in the fact that I thought going to church was what was important. I think it was in that year in Milwaukee I started to question like ‘Hey, no one will know if I don’t go.’ And I started to asking myself questions, important questions like ‘Why do I go? Why is this important to me? Is it important to me?’ And it was a perfect combination of a lot of self reflection and asking big questions. What’s my life purpose? Why would I want to believe in these things?

“Having our chaplain, his name was Iggy Cofaro, in Milwaukee kind of led me through those questions. He was patient but also direct with me in that, knowing how I grew up and that I needed to decide and understand this for myself. It was a year that really was transitional in my faith where I took it upon myself. That’s where my faith became my own, not something that I did because we just go to church every Sunday and that’s what my parents brought me to. I think it was in that year that I developed that personal relationship with God and understood more of what that looks like. I’m still trying to understand that more today, but that was really making it less religious and more of a relationship where things really changed for me.”

When you peel back the layers of what it means to be a professional hockey player, particularly at the highest level, it’s easy to see the outer layers of the fame and money that comes with the territory. However, there is more to it than that.

There’s lots of pressure in a win-at-all-costs type of business where the stakes and money are so high. And the swing in emotions throughout an NHL season can range from utter euphoria to complete devastation and everywhere in between.

Hamhuis believes his faith has helped him stay grounded through it all and has constantly reminded him of his identity in Christ.

“It’s been huge for me, and I think it’s helped me to actually play better too,” Hamhuis said. “Knowing that hockey is what I do and doesn’t define who I am. My Christian faith, my relationship with God, who I am in that defines who I am. That just takes a lot of the pressure off. Living and dying, the ups and downs of the hockey world, especially at the NHL level, the ups and downs are very high and very low. To be able to understand that I’m not defined by those things, I’m defined by a bigger thing out there, I think it allowed me to not get too high in the success and not get too low when things weren’t going well. It allowed me to play better. It took a burden off my shoulders. And it’s easy to say that. I still get caught up in focusing too much on results and what people are thinking, opinions of others. And when I do that, I just feel a burden growing on my shoulders. To play when I could find that balance of knowing that that’s not all it was about, I played free. I played light. I played my best hockey.”

We all struggle with different things in our lives, sometimes without even fully recognizing the depth of our struggles. One of the most challenging parts of staying spiritually engaged while being an NHL player is simply time…..or more specifically, the lack of it.

“There’s so many distractions, and not just the ones that you typically think of like road trips and bars, girls and that stuff,” Hamhuis said. “I feel like the distractions are more subtle and trickier to stay in the right mindset spiritually. Being busy. Being busy staring at your phone all day, not allowing time for that stillness is such an easy trap to fall into. I like to be productive. I find myself that that’s sometimes where I get wrapped up. It’s not a terrible thing, but it takes my mind. I find I lose my time for stillness and that reflection period for perspective.

“We’re fortunate to have really good chapel programs throughout the NHL. Hockey Ministries does a fantastic job, Professional Athletes Outreach, Athletes in Action…..there’s so many great resources for athletes that allow us to find a spiritual connection out there because they adapt to our schedule. Sundays don’t mean a lot in the NHL. We play games at any time of the day and any day of the week and any holiday so we have to find other times. Nashville has such a fantastic chapel program here with Pike Williams leading it since its inception in 1998. It’s great as an individual to connect and learn and be reminded of what the Bible teaches and what God is teaching us, but also it’s really encouraging to do that with other guys and understand that other guys are also Christians and have struggles and share in high moments, too. And then understand that there’s other guys on other teams that are also Christians. I find that that whole program is really encouraging.”

Our world today is a challenging one for many of us, particularly with the Covid-19 pandemic that has basically shut down the world as we’ve known it. However, Hamhuis is reminded that as followers of Jesus Christ, we can rest in the knowledge that God has a plan for it all and, most importantly, is still in control of it all. Just as he always has been.

“There is a lot of tough situations out there,” Hamhuis said. “We’re not doing what we’re usually doing and our routines, and I’ve really enjoyed the time to have time to be still and reflect. I think being a Christian throughout this has given me a sense of peace, a sense of comfort. When things aren’t going well, those type of words are kind of what you’re wanting and looking for. The Christian story and the relationship with Jesus, that’s what it is. I think it’s given me the ability to have a bigger-picture perspective of where we are going, not just the steps ahead of us. I like the idea of these times in this [pandemic] of maybe God is preparing and challenging and getting us ready for something that could be ahead.

“Just to have that confidence that He’s in control and He has a plan and whether it’s going to be through some difficulties, as Christians God has promises in the Bible that He’s always working on our behalf for good. Our definition of good is sometimes interesting. It’s not always material things. Sometimes it’s maybe restoring a relationship or building patience in us or building some sort of quality or fruit of a spirit that wouldn’t happen otherwise in our busyness. It’s certainly not always material blessings. Sometimes it’s the blessing of peace or a relationship or something that maybe is a little more unexpected or growth, mental toughness, resiliency. I think to have that perspective as a Christian, you start to look for those growth opportunities in the struggles because you have that trust that God has a bigger, better picture for us.”

Hamhuis trusts in that bigger and better picture. While realizing that being a Christian doesn’t make you immune to bad things happening in life, there’s a comfort level and a reassurance that this life is not the end of the story. There’s hope for tomorrow because we know who is in control of tomorrow.

So when things get tough, trust the Lord. When things are going well, trust the Lord. In all things, trust the Lord. And you’ll be amazed at where he will take you.

Any questions?

I feel like the passage in Luke 2 where we read of Jesus in the temple at the age of 12 often gets overlooked.

After all, Jesus hasn’t walked on water up until this point. There’s been no restoration of sight to the blind. He hasn’t even turned the water into wine at this point. However, I believe this passage sets the scene for how Jesus would come to teach others throughout his ministry.

Mary and Joseph were devout in their Jewish customs. During that time, Jews were required to make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem at least three times a year for Passover, Pentecost and the Tabernacles.

In Luke 2:41-52, Jesus is traveling with his parents to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. After those days were over, Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents knowing it. They were traveling back, presumably to their home in Nazareth, after the festival was over and did not discover that Jesus wasn’t with them until they had traveled a day’s journey.

Now, if you’re like me you’ve always questioned how in the world could it be possible to not notice your child isn’t traveling with you until you’ve traveled an entire day into the journey? Surely they would’ve noticed that sooner, right?

Well, you have to remember that back in those days you didn’t travel alone. Especially when the Passover Festival was taking place, it wasn’t uncommon for entire towns to travel together on their pilgrimage to Jerusalem. So you’re talking about hundreds of people traveling together at that point.

Another important insight I’ve recently learned is that you were considered a man in the Jewish culture at a much earlier age. Jesus would have been right around the age where he wouldn’t have had to travel exclusively with the women and could’ve traveled with and been recognized as a man. That sounds crazy to think about for someone who was 12 years old at the time, but that’s just the way of the culture.

In Luke 2:46-50, the action picks up after Mary and Joseph have returned to Jerusalem and are searching for Jesus.

After three days, they found him in the temple sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all those who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

“Why were you searching for me?” he asked them. “Didn’t you know that it was necessary for me to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them.

Isn’t it interesting that the first recorded words of Jesus in the New Testament were of him asking a question in response to a question? How many times do we see that sort of an answer from Jesus as we read through the New Testament? A lot.

Growing up, I always thought that was strange. Our western, American minds are trained to search for a bullet-point styled answer. We want to know exactly what the answer to each question we have for God is and how we can immediately apply it to our lives. That’s not how the culture operated back in the days of Jesus.

When Jesus responds to questions with questions, he’s not being difficult. He’s teaching. He’s often getting to a much deeper point than the person asking the questions even realizes is there.

I challenge you to read through the New Testament and identify when Jesus responds with questions. What messages is he trying to get across? How much do his questions challenge you personally to consider what God is saying in your life?

In Luke 2, Jesus lays the foundation for how he’s going to teach throughout his ministry. It’s still incredibly effective more than 2,000 years later.

Grimaldi guided by faith

For Nashville Predators forward Rocco Grimaldi, his faith in Jesus Christ has always been an intrinsic part of his life.

That faith has helped shape him in to the hockey player, and more importantly the person, he has become.

“I came to know the Lord when I was just a little kid,” Grimaldi said. “I was four years old when I accepted Jesus into my heart. Grew up in the church, grew up in a good Christian family. Mom and dad showed what a good mom and a good dad are supposed to be, what a husband and wife are supposed to look like. They modeled the Christian way for us. Both of my parents are police officers, so growing up they worked a lot to provide for us. So I would stay with my grandparents quite a bit. My grandma is one of my spiritual warriors, my prayer warriors. I’d be over at her house, my mom and dad would be working, she’d be teaching me stories and praying with me.

“She used to call me ‘her little David.’ She still does to this day. I got it from a really young age. A lot of people might say ‘Oh, you were too young to really accept.’ But I don’t believe that. I think if God calls you at two years old, three years old, 25 years old and you hear it, then that’s it. Four years old, my mom asked me if I wanted to accept Jesus into my heart to be my Lord and savior and I said ‘absolutely.”

Many Christians struggle with setting time aside on a daily basis and being intentional about spending time with the Lord and getting into the Word. That can especially be difficult for a professional athlete who spends so much time traveling and honing in on their skills, as well as dealing with the normal day-to-day personal lives that all of us have.

Grimaldi has felt called to make spending time in the Word and with the Lord a part of his daily routine, despite the business of an NHL schedule.

“I think one thing for me that I’m actually really good about is reading,” Grimaldi said. “I’ve been reading my Bible just about every day since I was in third grade. I think I was like seven or eight years old and I just felt the Holy Spirit just telling me that it was time to get to know Him besides hearing the stories in church, besides what other people have told me. And I think that’s really important. The Bible talks about it, I believe it’s in Acts, that there’s a town that Paul was preaching in and the people heard the word that was being preached. They didn’t hear it for themselves but they heard it from another person and they believed it, but then what they did is they searched the Scriptures for themselves to see if it was true. And I think God wants us to do that as well.

“We can’t just trust any person that we hear, any pastor, no matter who it is. We have to search it out for ourselves and discern what’s true and what’s not. I think that’s something that’s been engraved from a young age in me from the Lord pulling on my heartstrings to read for myself, to get to know him for myself but also from my parents, my family and my grandma telling me to search it out for myself.”

When you read the Bible, the contents of it can be very counter-cultural to what we experience in modern-day America. We want all of the answers and we want them now. We want everything given to us on our timetable. Most of the time that’s just now how the Lord operates.

“The way I look at is a lot of times, especially in our culture today and being a man, this ‘man’ culture, men are perceived as ones who don’t show emotion, that will always figure a way out of a situation, will always come through,” Grimaldi said. “When times are tough they’re just going to muck and grind it out and be a ‘man’. I think it’s interesting that the Bible is so opposite of that. When you humble yourself and you realize, on your own, life is so hard to figure out. There’s so many ups, there’s so many downs, there’s so many things that just don’t make sense. I think a lot of times when people are trying to figure out life, they’re trying to figure out if there’s a God or there’s not, I think they try to figure everything out.

“I’ve been in a relationship with Christ for over 20 years and I don’t know everything still and I never will. I think that’s something just to humble yourself to know, ‘You know what, I don’t need to know it all. I’m going to do my best to research it, to pray, to seek God out, to ask for his wisdom and he’s going to show up. And he’s going to show me things, but he’s God. Like he doesn’t need to tell me the whole story.’ Like you go to a movie or you go read a book, I don’t want to know the outcome of the movie before I see it. I want to see the whole thing. And I think that’s the same way with God. He’s sitting there and he’s got this whole movie of our lives, and I feel like one day we’re going to sit there in heaven and we’re going to watch this movie of our lives. And I don’t think he wants to tell us the outcome because where would faith come into that aspect?”

Grimaldi’s path to the NHL has been one full of tests and challenges. He became a full-time NHL player for the first time in his career during the 2018-19 season with the Predators after spending time with the Florida Panthers and Colorado Avalanche organizations.

There were times where a path to becoming a full-time NHL player wasn’t always in view for Grimaldi. But he stuck with his dream, pushed through the adversity and is now an important member of the Predators. He uses that experience as an example of what the Lord can do through times of uncertainty when you have faith in Him.

“If I knew that one day I was going to finally get a chance to play in the NHL after four or five years in the minors, yeah it may have made things a little easier but where would my faith have been?” Grimaldi said. “Where would my trust be? Where would my work ethic be because of those times? I feel like those hard times made me who I am today, and I wouldn’t trade those for the world. I know God allows things that are tough to be in our lives, allows bad things to happen to us, but they’re just to grow us. They’re to make us rely on him, to humble ourselves, like ‘Yeah, I’m a man but I can’t do it by myself.’

“I think there’s a quote that says something like ‘People think you’re weak if you admit that you need God, but in reality those who are the strongest are the ones who realize they’re not strong on their own, that they need Christ in their lives.’ Really it’s a humbling process, and it’s a continual strip away of what you think and what you believe in your own mind and just trusting God and saying ‘You know what, I don’t know it all. But you do.”

Life’s Too Short

I always find it difficult to come to grips with the sad reality that sometimes it takes tragedy in life to offer the appropriate perspective of how short life is, how precious it is.

I’m as guilty as anyone else at taking the very concept of life itself for granted. We all make plans and walk through life with the assumption that we’re going to be here on Earth for a long time. The simple reality is that none of us know when our final hour will come.

Yesterday I learned of two deaths that took place in my community. I didn’t have a personal relationship with either of the two people, but it affected me as though I had.

It was a sobering reminder of the fragility of life. It can all be taken away in an instant, in a way that we don’t see coming.

How different would our lives be if we knew that we had one more week to live? How differently would we treat our relationships with other people? How differently would our attitudes toward the small, petty things become?

I think when we all truly think about those questions, we realize that many things would be different. The disagreements or strained relationships we have with others would seem so…….unimportant. Would we not do our best to mend those relationships before our time was up?

It’s a challenging thought to live your life as though each day is your last day. It’s one of the most cliche sayings that gets tossed around. “Live every day as if it’s your last.” We all hear that and get the meaning behind it, but rarely do we ever put that saying into practice.

The simple truth of the matter is none of us know when our final day on Earth will come. God has laid out a plan for each of our lives, and no two lives are ever exactly the same. And many times, it’s so difficult to ever be ready for our time to come to an end.

In the past 24 hours I’ve reflected about what ultimately I believe all of us as followers of Christ are here for, and that’s to bring the gospel and love of Jesus Christ to the world. What are we waiting for? Why do we not make that the top priority each day when we get out of bed? And again, how different would our lives be if we did?

It would be drastically different. It would change everything about us. And ultimately, that’s what Jesus does. He changes everything about us and makes us more like Him.

Look, there are going to be people who are never going to accept Christ as their savior and frankly have no interest in even entertaining the thought of doing so. That’s just the way it is.

But I also believe there are people who have been convicted by the spirit. They’ve been interested in learning more about God and have felt the pull to pursue Him. But they’ve pulled away because now just “isn’t the right time. I’ll do that later in life”, they say.

The problem with that line of thinking is that you don’t know that “later in life” is going to come around.

So if you’re someone today that’s been waiting to make a decision to follow Jesus, I encourage you to do so today. If you’re someone who is dealing with a strained relationship, mend it. Forgive. Love. Life is too short to spend it squabbling over things that ultimately don’t matter.

James 4:13-15 sums it up like this:

“Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

Duchene stands firm in his faith

NHL star Matt Duchene stands firm in who he is and what he believes.

The Nashville Predators centerman is unashamedly rooted in his faith as a follower of Jesus Christ. Duchene was raised in a Christian home where his relationship with God was a priority. And from that, his spiritual journey with the Lord has helped shape and mold him throughout his life.

“I was just brought up with it,” Duchene said. “My grandparents on both sides are Christians and my parents just brought me up with that way of life and belief. We went to church a lot when I was a kid. It’s tough to keep it going during the season, but I’m going to try and get out and find somewhere I like to go this year now that we’re somewhere permanently for a while. I’m excited to bring my son up with that.

“I grew up going to an Anglican church. I really enjoyed that. I’m kind of a non-denominational type guy now. I think everyone can have their own relationship with God. It’s something that’s a huge thing in my life.”

As Duchene moves into a new season of life in Nashville with his wife Ashley and infant son Beau, he looks forward to raising his family in the same Christian environment that impacted him so heavily as a child.

He and Ashley are committed to providing Beau with a loving example of what a relationship with the Lord is supposed to look like.

“My wife is a Christian as well and was brought up that way, so it’s nice,” Duchene said. “It’s not like I have it and she doesn’t have it. It’s going to be something that [Beau] is brought up with in a very loving way. For me, that’s what I love. It’s a loving relationship with God, and that’s the kind of relationship I think my son will grow up with. I’m really excited to teach him about it because it’s the biggest thing in my life.”

There’s a lot that goes into being a professional athlete, particularly an athlete as high-profile as Duchene is. There’s obviously the countless hours of work that are put in behind the scenes to make sure the on-ice performance continues to improve, but there’s also a certain responsibility that comes with constantly being in the limelight.

Duchene isn’t fazed by publicly putting his faith in Jesus on display. He’s comfortable talking about it with those who approach him. By no means does he want to shove his religious beliefs in the faces of other people, but he also isn’t worried about what outside judgments he may face about being so open about his faith.

“I don’t find it challenging at all,” Duchene said. “I definitely don’t preach to anybody about it who isn’t willing to talk about it, but it is fun to have open conversations with guys who are believers. I think everyone has got different levels of their faith, or none at all. For me, just being a Christian, it’s accepting that. I don’t really care if anyone judges me or not judges me on it. I do what I do and I believe what I believe. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t worry about judgment from other people if there is any, good or bad. It’s my own thing. I think faith is a personal thing, and I kind of keep it that way.”

Like all of us, Duchene often needs guidance from the Lord. As the summer of 2019 was approaching, and with it a free agency decision from Duchene on where he would spend perhaps the remainder of his NHL career, he turned to the Lord to help guide him in making his decision.

And what he found was that the Lord paved the way for him. All he had to do was follow.

Duchene signed in Nashville, a place that had become near and dear to him and his family. He had other options in free agency but ultimately felt Nashville was the right place for them to be.

“I prayed all last year, ‘Lord just open a door for me and I’ll walk through it. That’s all I’m asking. Just make it blatantly obvious what the right decision is to be in,” Duchene said. “The whole way along, there were like flashing signs of what I was supposed to do. I just gave it to Him, and He showed me the way. At the same time you have your own thoughts and everything and sometimes you overthink, but it was honestly taken out of my hands right there in front of me. The doors opened and I walked through them.

“It was as simple as that. I got exactly what I asked for. It was one of those things that reaffirms your faith in a way. Obviously we all have that deep belief, but when you have those moments of ‘Wow, like He’s there and He’s looking out for me’, that was huge last year for me from start to finish.”

Light in the darkness

One of the big failures of the Christian faith today is that oftentimes we fail to do what the Lord has commanded us to do.

We can get so caught up in being judgmental against our fellow man or woman, or maybe even more common, don’t put enough time or investment into reading the word of God and hearing from Him that we don’t know what Jesus has commanded us to do.

Adopting the loving attitude that Jesus has commanded us to have can be so difficult to put into practice, particularly in today’s world and the echo chamber that is social media.

I think back to Jesus and what he said to his disciples shortly before he was about to be betrayed by Judas and crucified. He had just gotten done washing the feet of his disciples (a task that was reserved for the lowliest servant) and was explaining to them that his time left with them on earth was short.

In John 13:33-35, Jesus says:

“My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Jesus loves people with a selfless kind of love that is full of compassion and totally genuine. Look no further than his sacrifice on the cross for sins he did not commit to illustrate that point.

Today’s world is filled with so much hatred. Every time you turn on the television or log on to Twitter, it seems like something horrible has happened. It seems like evil is everywhere you turn.

That’s why it’s so important for those of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus to show his light to the world. There are people who do this every day, people that I have met, and it can make such a difference in a dark world that needs all of the love it can get.

Jesus lays it out in a simple, yet daunting way in John 13. It’s simple to understand that Jesus wants us to love one another at all times. It’s much more daunting to put that into practice on a daily basis.

I would like to challenge all of us this week to really put those words from Jesus into practice. Dive deep into a selfless, genuine love for other people. Reach out. Help those who need it and don’t expect anything in return. Serve willingly and joyfully.

When we as Christians start to love the world the way Jesus instructed us to, we will see radical change in our lives and the lives of those around us in ways that we could have never imagined.

Instead of being judgmental or spiteful, ask yourself: “How would Jesus handle this situation?” When we start seeing the world through that lens, it will completely transform how we connect with people.

What’s holding you back?

What’s stopping you from sharing the good news of the gospel?

Is it fear? Feeling like you’re not knowledgeable enough to share it with any confidence? Do you just not know how to begin that conversation with someone?

All of us Christians have probably been there at some point in our walk with the Lord when we feel like we don’t know what to say or do when presented with the opportunity to share the story of Jesus.

However, I believe the formula for overcoming that and sharing the good news is available to us. We have to get into the word of God, trust in Him, communicate with Him and listen to how He responds.

When we read the Bible and dive into the word of the Lord with an intentional, genuine desire to draw closer to Him, we will not be disappointed. And because of that, we will become more knowledgeable and more confident in sharing our faith with others.

The Holy Spirit has a way at tugging at our heartstrings and giving us the right words to say when we trust in the Lord.

Jesus gave us a command prior to his ascension into heaven that is referred to as The Great Commission.

Matthew 28:18-20, where that takes place, reads:

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Jesus wants us to not only share our faith and lead others to Him, but He also wants us to make disciples. There’s a difference between being a believer and being a disciple. Coming to a saving faith in Jesus isn’t the finish line; it’s the starting line.

What steps are you taking to ensure that you are going and making disciples of all nations? When was the last time you shared your testimony of what Jesus has done in your life?

Take this as a challenge this week to dig into the word of God and draw nearer to him. And to any obstacle that’s preventing you from sharing your faith in Jesus, pray that He would remove that obstacle from your life and allow you to speak about him boldly and bravely.

Jesus paid the ultimate price for our sins. He lived a perfect life that we couldn’t live and died a death we should have died. And on the third day, Jesus rose from the dead and conquered hell and the grave. If you’ll invite Jesus into your heart, confess that you’re a sinner and believe that Jesus is Lord and died for your sins and rose from the dead, you will be saved and will spend eternity with Him in heaven.

If you’ve never prayed that prayer or made that decision in your life, I pray that you’d be bold enough to do that today. Feel free to reach out to me to chat at robstanley10@gmail.com.

For those of you who are believers, allow God to remove those barriers from your life this week and learn to trust in Him and be confident to share your faith.