Experiencing God's Power and PresenceSample

In Times of Confusion

Vince Lombardi, the great Green Bay Packers coach, was famous for his commitment to the basics. He started every football season by holding up a ball and telling his team, all of them professional athletes, “This, gentlemen, is a football.” Then the team spent the first two weeks doing nothing but learning again how to block and tackle.

When we go through times of confusion, sometimes the best remedy is to go back to the basics. God has used counselors, coaches, and consultants in my ministry and personal life to bring clarity to situations that have grown overwhelming and over-complicated. We all need wisdom and discernment in confusing situations to know where we are, where we need to go, and how to get there.

The words of Moses in Psalm 90 give us that kind of counsel. He takes us back to the basics. He experienced many times of overextension and exhaustion as he led God’s people from Egypt through the wilderness to the edge of the Promised Land. Here he summarizes a life of wisdom in six brief principles: God is great (vv. 1-2), life is short (vv. 3-6), sin is serious (vv. 7-11), wisdom is essential (v. 12), mercy is available (vv. 13-15), and success is possible (vv. 16-17). The implications of these principles are far-reaching and life-changing. If God is great, relating to him rightly is of highest importance. If life is short, the most sensible thing we can do is live in light of eternity. If sin is serious, eliminating it from our lives is vital. If we embrace wisdom, our priorities shift; we learn to invest our lives rather than spend them. If mercy is available, we can choose to receive it in abundance and live in freedom and joy. And if success really is possible, God will provide opportunities for us to impact our world for good.

These brief but powerful principles dispel confusion. They bring clarity to our direction and enable us to live with purpose and fruitfulness. They are the basics that lead us into understanding. They allow us to recognize where we are and equip us to get to wherever we need to go in life.