I saw on Twitter something which caught my eye. Along with a short video, Zach Ragan tweeted: “Hendon Hooker has gotta have some gospel music going before he runs out of the T.” Apparently U.T.’s senior quarterback gets ready for a game by enjoying what he calls “slow jams,” which include gospel music, prayer, meditation, and devotional reading with his teammate, Joe Milton.
I want to share with you Hendon’s exact quote about his pregame ritual from the video: “I gotta have the gospel music bumpin’.” I like that. I really like that. It sounds to me like a man who knows the source of his strength. The prophet Isaiah promised on behalf of our great God: “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength” (40:29). And, quite unlike us, God does not grow weary.
You know me. I was intrigued by what might be Hendon’s favorite song for a pregame jam. It’s “Indescribable” by Kierra “Kiki” Sheard …
From the highest of heights to the depth of the sea
Creation revealing Your majesty
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming …
Indescribable, uncontainable
You place the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are amazing God
All-powerful, untamable
Awestruck we fall to our knees and we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God!
Who sees lightning bolts and tells them where they should go
Or sees heavenly storehouses laden with snow?
Who imagined the sun and gave source to its light
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night?
None can fathom …
Incomparable, unchangeable
You’ve seen the depths of my heart and You love me the same
You are amazing God!
As somebody who can barely wrap my mind around Hendon’s incredible athletic ability, I find it way cool that the man who helped his team soar to victory over Florida last weekend chooses, when he most needs to stand strong in the game, to focus on God’s strength instead of his own …
Awestruck we fall to our knees and we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God!
But don’t think of Hendon’s slow jams as an entirely private affair. I found another quote in which he describes what happens after the music and worship: “I kind of go through the locker room, dap up everyone, just make sure to let them know, ‘Hey, I’m ready to roll.'” That’s what I’m going to start doing around here on Sunday mornings. I’m going to make it my job to dap up everyone, at least as best I can. We all need a little, or a lot of, encouragement!
Friends, encouragement starts with Jesus. He’s our well of endless supply. We have no other. We tend to get so busy that we forget to go back to the source of every good and perfect gift. Christ is the Way. He is the Truth. He is the Life. And He is the only Way. John 14:6. You may not need Him on the football field today, but you need Him. And so do I.
This is a season of great turmoil in the world, so you and I must be drawing near to God. And that’s the door which Christ has opened for us. Anytime. Anywhere. Pregame. Postgame. Game. Many centuries ago, St. Augustine issued a timeless warning: “Remember this. When people choose to withdraw from a fire, the fire continues to give warmth, but they grow cold. When people choose to withdraw from the light, the light continues to be bright in itself, but they are in darkness. This is also the case when people withdraw from God.”
I think I need a slow jam.
Thus saith our gracious Lord: “Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Like Hendon, you and I have been called to run, and to finish well. Maybe we ought to start making some time for some slow jams along the way.
Pastor Charles
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