I am torn between the two, I desire to depart and be with Christ which is better by far, but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. (Philippians 1:23-24)

    Ever have those “torn between the two” dilemmas in life? If you don’t today, you may tomorrow. In fact, you may have a lot of these “torn between the two” decisions to make. These dilemmas may make us undecided, confused, and uncertain about life and about ourselves. During times like this, if someone asks if I am an indecisive person, I’d probably respond, “Well — yes and no!”

    In high school, I played center on the football team. I weighed 145 pounds. We were a Class C school, and had fewer than 100 students in grades 9 — 12. Any male who could paw the ground once for yes or twice for no made the football team. Coach Barney was also the shop teacher, history teacher, and driver’s education instructor. He was a great coach.

    When I was in the seventh grade, we revived our football program. It had been dropped for lack of participation back in the early 1950’s! As a result, the first few years we had helmets, pads, and uniforms that dated back to the 1940’s. Leather helmets! It was amazing. We all looked like stunt doubles for the remake of “The Revenge of Knute Rockne — All American: This Time It’s Personal.”

    Coach Barney would run off play patterns and game plans on the mimeograph machine. A mimeograph machine was a rolling cylinder to which was attached a “spirit master.” In spite of it’s religious name, the spirit master was a type of carbon paper, and they put this blue ink in that... Well, back to the story cause I’ve probably lost even my most faithful readers, so forget the “spirit master.” Just let it be known you could get lightheaded sniffing that blue ink on the game plans. We’d study these play patterns and game plans late into the night, and practice them each day. They worked perfectly in practice. In fact, each play was designed to result in a touchdown.

    Friday night game-time eventually rolled around. In the windswept frozen vastness of Northern Oklahoma, these games were almost surreal! The lights of the football field were visible for miles in the frigid prairie night. Cars and pickups trucks came in from all points of the compass. Everyone, and I mean everyone, came to the football game. Parking was less than ten feet from the field because next to the football field was a REAL field. In fact, the left boundary of the football field was the first furrow of a wheat field. More than once during a game, I’d miss my opponent and tackle the left front tire of a John Deere tractor. Before the game started, the announcements would echo around the field. Then we would run out in our briefly clean uniforms, fresh from an intense pre-game workout. During the opening prayer, we took off our helmets. Opening one eye, I could see that our already sweaty heads were steaming in the 20 degree night air.

    The opening kickoff would get the game started. We’d hold our own for awhile, then everything would seem to fall apart. By the fourth quarter, all our game plans were out the window. Coach Barney would pull us over and say “Boys, do all you can do. Everybody block. Just give it all you’ve got. Branscum you hike it to Miller. Miller you give it to Schoeling. Schoeling, you RUN FOR DAYLIGHT!”

    I’ve always remembered that moment and the look on Coach’s face when he said, “RUN FOR DAYLIGHT!”

That little bit of advice is good for the game of life.

    That little bit of advice is good for the game of life. There are times we face complexities and dilemmas. There are times we don’t know which way to turn. There are times when all our play patterns and all our fancy game plans lie torn and muddy in the field of play. There are times when we get so bogged down from overanalyzing our situation that we do nothing and get creamed. There are times when we are at the end of our rope, and there isn’t enough rope left to tie in a knot and hold on.

    Now don’t get wrong, I’m not suggesting we live helter-skelter, play-it-as-you-go irresponsibility. I’m talking about when we’ve prepared as well we could and still things don’t become clear. At moments like this you need to focus your mind on God and His will for your life (the book of Psalms is great for this). Then spend some time in prayer asking for godly wisdom. Then, when the time comes, RUN FOR DAYLIGHT! Make the decision that seems the best, that seems most right, that seems to the highest good, that seems to honor God, then RUN FOR DAYLIGHT!

    Trust that God will help get you there through His Holy Spirit. God will NOT forsake us. He will help us RUN FOR DAYLIGHT!

God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never forsake you.” That is why we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6)