Kelli Gotthardt
  • Unlikely Rebel
  • Speaking
  • About
  • Contact

Author//speaker
Consultant

Coach or King

11/30/2012

2 Comments

 
I love living life with a team.  I do better when I have a couple of people weighing in on decisions I need to make--giving thoughtful advice, bringing fresh perspectives.  I have a long history of employing coaches and counselors in addition to the unpaid team of experts I have surrounded myself with.  The Bible encourages this kind of wisdom-seeking.  But it can be a problem when I simply add God to my advisory team.

A good coach.

Picture
 Sometimes I think of God as a coach.  He's got a game plan.  He's got experience.  He knows how to bring out the best in me.  

He's on the sidelines and we huddle up during the time outs and sometimes he introduces a play that I don't think is going to work but he believes in me so I try it.  

In this innocuous analogy, God is a coach that doesn't need to yell.  Sure, he's sometimes disappointed in my performance, but he always puts his arm around me after the game and tells me we'll get 'em next time.    

Yes. No. Renegotiate.

I was an athlete.  I played team sports.  I'm not too pious to understand the coaching analogy.  It's just incomplete.  Or maybe my idea of coaching has shifted now that I'm an adult.  On a sports team, the coach calls the plays, but now, my coach is my employee.  I hire her.  I decide whether or not to go with her ideas.  My current business coach has a phrase she uses when she gives me a suggestion.  I can say 'yes', 'no', or 'renegotiate'.  Which is why personal coaching falls short as an analogy for my relationship with God.

A different picture.

Picture
Apparently, Jesus is not interested in having an advisory role in my life. In a culture that bristles at authority, this seems a bit bold.

Recently, after reading in Phillipians and praying, I spent some time just sitting in silence.  During this time I'm not looking for God to say anything to me and I'm not talking to him.  I'm sitting in his presence. Most mornings I don't get any ephiphanies or big 'aha's'.  It's just good to be still and be together.  

This day was different.  Not long into the silence the word 'king' popped into my head.  I felt compelled to tell God that he was my king.  It kept coming.  Stronger and stronger.  I wanted to get down on the floor and bow down, but I feared the dog would be all over me so I decided to keep this sacred moment protected.  


Taken under advisement...

should not be in my vocabulary when responding to divine instruction.  Sure, sometimes I need to discern whether instruction is from God or not, but honestly, I'd rather obey without question, trusting that God sees my motive, than be found guilty of wavering in my obedience.  If God says "go", I want to go.  If he says "remain", I want to remain.  So obvious and so radical at the same time.  So far to go.

How about you?  What is your response to the idea of Christ as King?  How does that play out practically in your life?   
2 Comments
Gwen
11/30/2012 06:49:55 am

I'd like this King to speak louder and more frequently and on my time table. And answer all my questions! But if he did that he probably wouldn't be my king, he'd be like a genie or something. I suppose it is kind of magical when he takes you in a direction you wouldn't expect... certainly has been true for me this year. I keep hoping this is all coming from him and I'm being obedient to his calling. Not always easy to tell.

Reply
Kelli Gotthardt
12/1/2012 12:28:21 am

No, Gwen. It's not always easy to tell! But he's not trying to hide from you or waiting to smack you if you make a mistake. So...we've got that going for us :)

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    About Kelli

    Kelli is a writer, speaker and consultant equipping leaders for a deepening intimacy with Christ, greater impact in ministry and more effective intentionality in all of life.
    Read More >>

    Picture

    Speaking

    Book Kelli for your next event or retreat.
    Find Out More >>

    Subscribe to Kelli's Blog. Enter your email address:

    Archives

    November 2017
    April 2017
    August 2016
    July 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    July 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    January 2011

    Categories

    All
    Advent
    Adversity
    Anger
    Authority
    Awards
    Barbie
    Beauty
    Brain Chemistry
    Busyness
    Choices
    Community Of Women Strength And Beauty
    Delight
    Dependance
    Difficulty
    Discipline
    Dreams
    Elijah
    Failure
    Faithfulness
    Family
    Fear
    Foolishness
    Forgiveness
    Funerals
    Graduation
    Gratitude
    Growing Pains
    Guatemala
    Happiness
    Hearing God
    Heart
    Holy Spirit
    Home Improvement
    Idols
    Imperfection
    Introverts
    Jesus
    Katy Perry
    Love
    Miracles
    New Year
    New Year
    Obvious Observations
    Painting
    Parenting
    Peace
    Pondering
    Prayer
    Precious
    Productivity
    Reformed
    Rejection
    Repentance
    Ridiculousness
    Running
    Sabbath
    School
    Slowing Down
    Social Justice
    Spiritual Disciplines
    Time Management
    Transitions
    Trials
    Voice
    Whales
    Wish List
    Worship

Blog
About
Contact


Speaking
  Keynote Speaker
  Retreats
  Request Speaking Information
Copyright 2013 Kelli Gotthardt
Internet Strategy by Connection Point Interactive
  • Unlikely Rebel
  • Speaking
  • About
  • Contact