by Shannon Caughey

As a coach, you have some degree of power. You can choose the values you want your program to pursue, set the practice schedule, determine which players will be in the starting line-up, and perhaps decide who will be on your staff. But your power is limited. During competition, it’s up to your players to make plays and carry out the strategy you set. As much as you wish you could actually make things happen on the field or court, you’re powerless to do so.

The same is true in life. Even those in the highest positions have limits to their power. We often lack the power to make things happen in our circumstances, our life, and the lives of others. Recognizing this can prompt us to consider looking to someone more powerful than us. There is One who is not just more powerful. He is the all-powerful God of the universe. This is called God’s omnipotence.

In this series of devotions, we’re looking at attributes of the Lord that give us abundant reasons for trusting him—and for continuing to deepen our trust in him. In the last devotion, we reflected on God’s unfailing love. Now we’re thinking about his unrivaled power, which the Bible repeatedly affirms. For example, Psalm 147:5 says, “Our Lord is great, vast in power.” In Jeremiah 32:17, the prophet declares, “Oh, Lord God! You yourself made the heavens and earth by your great power and with your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for you!”

Since God is all-powerful, he is able to do all that he desires and intends to do. We can trust him because he has the power to make happen everything he wants to make happen in our circumstances, our life, the lives of others, and our world.

What’s amazing is that the omnipotent God imparts his power to us as we look to him and follow him. In Colossians 1:11, the Apostle Paul prays that believers in Christ would be “strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might.” Consider the implication of this. Far from being powerless, as we trust the Lord we receive power from the all-powerful God of the universe.

What is God’s purpose in infusing us with his mighty strength? The God who is able to do all he desires and intends to do gives us his power so that we are able to do all that God desires and intends for us to do. Some examples of what is included in this: “His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). And returning to Colossians 1:11—“being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, so that you may have great endurance and patience…”

It’s true that you are powerless to make plays for your players in the midst of competition. However, you have access to God’s power to do what matters far more: be a godly coach who patiently builds into your players’ lives with the goal of making a difference that will endure. God gives you the power to be a truly transformational coach: someone who impacts players, parents, and even the community in a way that God uses to transform them for his glory.

Why trust God? Because he is perfectly loving and all-powerful. God “is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20).

For reflection: Take some time to praise God for his power and to thank God that he imparts his power to you. Renew your trust in him and his power.