Put Me In Coach

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Isaiah 6:8 — Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

A few years ago, if you had told me girls’ flag football would become one of the fastest-growing sports in America, I probably would have laughed.

I always wanted to play sports with my boy cousins. But no… girls didn’t play football.

Well, things have changed.

Nearly 70,000 girls are playing now. States like New Jersey are making it an official championship-level high school sport, and it’s even headed to the Olympics.

I love that.

Because somewhere right now, there’s a girl who could have stayed in the stands. Instead, she decided to step onto the field, run the route, call the play, and take the risk.

But I wonder how often we do the opposite with our faith.

We watch other people live boldly and think, They’re the ones who know what they’re doing. They’re the ones who make a difference. They’re the ones God chooses.

Meanwhile, we stay on the sidelines.

But Scripture tells a different story.

David was out tending sheep when God called him. Esther was afraid, yet she stepped into the king’s presence when everything was at stake. Peter was impulsive and imperfect, and Jesus still called him to follow.

God has never required His people to have everything figured out before stepping onto the field.

In Isaiah 6, Isaiah encounters God and realizes that God is calling him, too. And his response isn’t, “Send someone else.”

Nope.

“Here I am. Send me.”

It’s almost like Isaiah is saying, Put me in, Coach.

Friend, faith isn’t about knowing exactly what to do. Maybe today you feel unqualified. Maybe you’ve been watching someone else live the kind of faith you wish you had and wondering if God could really use you.

You don’t have to sit in the stands.

God has a purpose for ordinary people, and He still invites you and me to participate in what He is doing.

So let’s step onto the field.

“Here I am, Lord. Send me.”

 

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

  • Where in your life might you be standing on the sidelines because you feel unqualified, afraid, or unsure?
  • What do you think God may be inviting you to step into right now?
  • Whose faith have you admired from a distance, and what might it look like for you to take one small step of faith yourself?
  • What would it look like for you to sincerely pray, “Here I am, Lord. Send me”?
  • What is one step you could take today to move from watching to participating in what God is doing?
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Okay To Not Be Okay

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Philippians 4:6–7 — Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

There’s something different happening in the way people talk about what’s going on inside them.

They are actually talking about mental health. I don’t remember this happening in my entire life, and I’m going to be 55 this year. People are talking about anxiety, burnout, and feeling overwhelmed by everything happening in the world. They’re admitting when they’re not okay.

And honestly, I think that’s a really good thing.

Because pretending everything is fine when it isn’t doesn’t make the weight disappear. It just makes you carry it quietly.

And that’s one of the things I love about faith. The Bible has never pretended people are okay when they aren’t. David wrote when he was overwhelmed. Elijah told God he was exhausted and ready to quit.

And God didn’t shame them for feeling that way. He met them there.

Maybe that’s where you are today.

Maybe nobody looking at you would know it. You’re getting through the day. You’re answering the messages. You’re doing your job and taking care of everybody else, but inside, your mind is racing because you’re carrying more than you were ever meant to carry.

In many ways, that’s what Paul in the Bible was speaking about when he tells us not to be consumed by anxiety, but to bring everything to God. Then he describes something beautiful: when we do, God’s peace stands guard over our hearts and minds.

It’s not because every circumstance suddenly changes. It’s because we’re no longer facing those circumstances alone.

So, if today feels heavy, don’t pretend it doesn’t. Bring it to God… all the worry, the exhaustion, and the things you don’t know how to say out loud. Remember friend, you may still be walking through something, but you don’t have to carry it by yourself.

 

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

  • What is weighing most heavily on your heart or mind right now? Have you been carrying it quietly instead of bringing it to God?
  • What worry do you need to turn into a prayer today? Be specific with God about what you need.
  • Are you trying to handle something on your own that God is inviting you to surrender to Him?
  • What does “pray about everything” look like in your life right now? Is there something you’ve been hesitant to bring to God?
  • Think about a time when God met you in a difficult season. What do you remember about His presence, even if your circumstances didn’t immediately change?
  • Philippians 4:6–7 connects prayer, thanksgiving, and peace. What is one thing you can thank God for today, even in the middle of what feels difficult?
  • What would it look like for you to trust God with what you cannot control today?
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God Doesn’t Waste Broken Places

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Ephesians 2:9-10 — Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

There’s a building in Spokane, Washington, that used to glow with neon lights for all the wrong reasons.

People drove past it for years, knowing exactly what was happening inside.

Brokenness. Addiction. Exploitation. Stories most people never heard because the women living inside those walls often felt invisible.

Then God started rewriting the story.

A friend of mine named Taylor, who also works in Christian radio, sent me the story. I had tears rolling down my face, and honestly, I just haven’t stopped thinking about it.

There’s a ministry called Helping Captives. They bought that former strip club, paid it off completely, and now they’re turning it into a Freedom Center for women escaping human trafficking.

Same building.

Different purpose.

One woman who was rescued from trafficking said she had worked in that very club before.

Can you imagine standing in a place that once represented your pain and watching God turn it into a place of healing?

Maybe that’s what feels so much like Jesus to me.

God has always loved taking what looks ruined and giving it a purpose the world never saw coming.

He turns messes into masterpieces.

And that’s where Ephesians 2 speaks so deeply to me.

Grace is not something we manufacture. It’s not something we earn by being good enough.

Salvation is a gift.

And when God makes us new in Christ, He doesn’t just rescue us from our past. He gives our lives a new purpose. He prepares good things for us to do for His glory.

So maybe you needed this reminder today:

Your past may explain part of your story, but it does not get to write the ending.

The world may look at something and see what it used to be.

But God sees what He can make it become.

So pause today and ask Him to show you one place in your life that feels too broken to matter anymore.

Bring that place into His hands.

Because you are not defined by what you were.

In Christ, you are being made new.

And Jesus is still in the business of turning broken places into stories of redemption.

 

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

  • Is there a part of your past that you’ve allowed to define you? What would it mean to let God write a new chapter there?
  • Where in your life do you feel “too broken to matter”? What would it look like to place that area in God’s hands?
  • How does knowing that salvation is a gift—not something you earn—change the way you see yourself and God?
  • Ephesians 2:10 says God created us anew so we can do good things He planned for us. What might He be inviting you to do in this season?
  • Where have you seen God take something painful or broken and give it a new purpose?
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Healing the Hidden Hurt

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Isaiah 61:1 — The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.

One weekend recently, I got to help my friend Laura at her daughter Hosanna’s wedding. Hosanna is a girl I adore, and she had me doing all those little wedding details I absolutely love.

There were tables to set up, decorations to arrange, and a hundred other little things. Even a dessert table. And I love doing dessert tables!

But as I stood there working, I realized just how good God really is.

Just a few months earlier, when my son got married, I was supposed to help set up that day too. But at the last minute, I wasn’t allowed to.

And if I’m honest, it hurt so much.

I left that wedding reception in a panic, feeling invisible and unneeded. It was heartbreaking to feel like I was just a name on a birth certificate.

But now, months later, I was standing at another wedding, doing every single thing I had dreamed of doing for someone I love.

And Hosanna had no idea what had happened before. I hadn’t told her my story. She simply asked me to help.

And somewhere between the decorations and that dessert table, I remembered something about God:

He comes near to the brokenhearted.

Isaiah 61 is a beautiful picture of the ministry of Jesus. He came to bring good news, to heal what is broken, to bring freedom where people have been bound by pain, sin, shame, and sorrow.

And sometimes, healing doesn’t happen all at once.

Sometimes God meets us months later, in an ordinary moment, and lets us realize, “Look what I’ve done. Look how I’ve cared for you. Look how I’m restoring something you thought was lost.”

I’m telling you this with tears in my eyes, but they aren’t tears of sadness anymore.

They’ve become tears of joy.

Friend, God sees the hurt you never had the words for.

He knows it. He sees it. And He is not distant from it.

God understands deep, deep agony. He knows what suffering feels like because His own Son, Jesus, willingly went to the cross for you and for me.

And maybe today, there’s a place in your heart you’ve never really talked about with anyone.

Maybe you don’t even know how to put it into words.

But you can bring it to Jesus.

Bring Him the hurt. Bring Him the disappointment. Bring Him the people you love. Bring Him the things you don’t understand.

You may not be able to find all the right words to pray.

But let me tell you something:

He already sees it.

And even more than that…

He cares.

 

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

  • Is there a hurt in your life that you’ve never really had the words to explain to anyone? What would it look like to bring that hurt honestly to Jesus?
  • Have you ever experienced a moment when God seemed to bring unexpected healing or restoration to something that had deeply hurt you? What did that moment mean to you?
  • Is there a disappointment you’re still carrying because you feel unseen, unwanted, or unneeded? How does it change things to remember that God sees you completely?
  • What would it look like today to bring Jesus not only your pain, but also the people you love?
  • Where do you need to remember today: “He already sees it, and He cares”?
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Leave Hope Wherever You Go

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2 Corinthians 1:4 — He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

There are certain signs on a road trip that can change the mood of the entire car.

“Rest Area, 42 Miles.” Nobody gets excited.

But then a different sign appears. Just one word changes everything:

“Buc-ee’s.”

Suddenly, everybody wakes up! You need a snack. Someone else needs coffee. Everyone definitely needs a bathroom break, and somehow, a quick stop turns into forty-five minutes where you’re walking out with beef jerky, homemade fudge, and a beaver shirt you didn’t know you needed.

Now here’s the funny part.

What started as a Texas thing is popping up all over the country. More locations are opening, including one right here in Ruston. It’s amazing how one place became something people actually look forward to.

And it makes me think.

God has a way of putting people on our path who leave us feeling better than where they found us.

Maybe it’s the friend who listens, the coworker who encourages you, the teacher who believes in you, or the stranger whose kindness shows up at exactly the right moment.

Sometimes the very comfort God has given us in our own hard seasons becomes the comfort we’re able to offer someone else.

The Bible reminds us that God comforts us in our troubles so that we can comfort others with the same comfort we have received from Him.

What we receive from God can become something we give to someone else.

So what if today, wherever God takes you, you became that person? The one who speaks hope. The one who chooses kindness. The one who reminds someone they’re not walking through life alone.

You never know. A few words filled with God’s love might become the stop someone needed most.

 

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

  • Who is someone God has used to bring you comfort or encouragement when you were going through a difficult time?
  • What is a comfort God has given you in one of your own hard seasons that you might be able to offer someone else?
  • Is there someone in your life right now who may need a listening ear, a kind word, or a reminder that they’re not alone?
  • What would it look like for you to be the person who “leaves someone feeling better than where you found them” today?
  • Who might God be putting in your path today that needs the comfort and hope He has already given you?
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Can You Sit with Me

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Romans 12:15 — Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.

Sometimes all we need to do is be in someone’s presence when they’re not feeling so good, when they’re having a bad day, or when they’re going through something difficult.

Yes, just sit in their presence.

We want to solve everything all at once. At least I do.

But that’s not my job.

We don’t have all the right answers or the perfect things to say. And honestly, sometimes there aren’t any words that can make someone’s pain go away.

But God doesn’t ask us to have all the answers. He asks us to love people well, and sometimes that means simply being there.

It reminds me of a story I once heard about a nurse who worked overnight. After her shift, she liked to stop at a park to watch the sunrise. One morning, she noticed someone sitting on a bench, crying.

So she went over and sat beside her.

She didn’t try to fix her. She didn’t rush to explain why everything would be okay. She just sat there and listened.

She was willing to enter into this woman’s sorrow instead of rushing past it—to share, even in a small way, the weight of what this woman was carrying.

They talked, and the nurse learned that this woman was facing one of the hardest seasons of her life. She had come to that park feeling completely alone, but that unexpected conversation gave her hope.

And I think that’s part of what Paul means when he tells us to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.

When someone is celebrating, we celebrate with them.

When someone is hurting, we don’t have to rush them out of their pain. We can be willing to sit with them in it.

Sometimes the best gift we can offer is simply showing up.

Because God often ministers His love and comfort through the presence of His people, reminding others that they are not alone.

So maybe today, instead of trying to fix someone’s pain, just sit beside them while they’re feeling it.

Listen. Pray. Stay.

You don’t have to have the answer to be part of God’s answer.

 

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

  • When someone you love is hurting, is your first instinct to listen or to try to fix the problem? Why?
  • Is there someone in your life who might simply need you to show up and be present right now?
  • How can you become better at celebrating with others when they’re happy, even when their joy has nothing to do with you?
  • What makes it difficult for you to sit with someone else’s pain without trying to make it go away?
  • How might God use your presence, even when you don’t have the right words, to remind someone that they aren’t alone?
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When Everything Changes

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Matthew 24:35 — Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.

Life feels heavy for a lot of people right now.

I turn on the news and see rising gas prices, wars, uncertainty, and one more thing to worry about tomorrow. But despite all of that, I found it pretty interesting to hear that Bible sales are soaring.

Wow.

In 2025, more than 19 million Bibles were sold in the United States alone—the highest number in more than two decades. Bible sales were up 12% from the year before.

And I have to wonder if part of the reason is that when everything around us feels shaky, we’re looking for something solid.

That’s amazing.

Still, the truth is, a Bible sitting on a shelf won’t change your life.

But opening it might.

Not because every problem suddenly disappears. Not because gas prices go down or the headlines become less scary. But because God’s Word reminds us that what Jesus says is true, certain, and lasting.

Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.”

Heaven and earth may change. The headlines will change. Prices will change. Our circumstances will change. But Jesus’ words will never pass away.

That’s why God’s Word can anchor us when everything else feels uncertain.

So, if you’ve been feeling overwhelmed lately, don’t start by trying to read the whole Bible. That will definitely overwhelm you.

But can I encourage you to open it?

Maybe start in the Psalms. Sit with a few verses and let God’s Word remind you who He is—and who you are, too.

And if you’d like to go through the Bible Recap with us at 88.7 The Cross, it’s not too late. That can help you understand a little more of what you’re reading.

Because sometimes the greatest peace doesn’t come from knowing what’s going to happen next.

Real peace comes from knowing that God holds both tomorrow and today in His hands.

 

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

  • What feels uncertain or shaky in your life right now? How might God’s unchanging Word speak into that uncertainty?
  • Do you tend to reach for God’s Word when life gets difficult, or is it something you struggle to make time for? Why?
  • What would it look like for you to move your Bible from the shelf into your daily life this week?
  • When you don’t know what tomorrow holds, how does knowing that God’s Word will never pass away give you confidence today?
  • What book of the Bible could you begin reading today—not to finish quickly, but simply to sit with what God is saying?
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When Jesus Rewrites Your Story

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Colossians 1:6 — This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.

You ever have one of those moments where your whole life changes in one conversation?

If you think about Saul from the Bible—who was also known as Paul—that’s his story.

This was a man on a mission. He was focused and driven, certain he was doing the right thing. In fact, the Bible says he was breathing out murderous threats against Christians. He thought he was fighting for God. After all, he had been trained in the synagogue.

Then a light from heaven stopped him cold.

It was Jesus who met him on that road and asked, “Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

Can you even imagine that moment? Everything Saul believed about himself flipped inside out on a dusty road.

Jesus didn’t just change Saul’s destination. He transformed the traveler.

And that’s what God’s grace still does. Colossians says the Good News is “bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives.” That’s exactly what happened to Saul. The gospel didn’t just change what he believed; it changed who he was and what he did with his life.

And that’s what God’s grace still does in us. Once the truth of Jesus takes root in a heart, it keeps growing, keeps changing us, and keeps producing fruit in ways we may never have imagined.

The man who once hunted Christians would become the apostle Paul, carrying the gospel farther than almost anybody else in Scripture.

God’s grace doesn’t simply rescue us from our past; it redirects us toward His purpose.

Maybe that’s where you are today.

Maybe God isn’t asking you to abandon your life as much as surrender the direction you’ve been taking it.

When Jesus redirects your life, He isn’t taking something from you.

He’s leading you into something greater.

 

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

  • Can you think of a moment when God changed the direction of your life? What did He teach you through that experience?
  • Are there areas of your life where you may be moving with determination but not necessarily in God’s direction? What might He be asking you to surrender?
  • Saul thought he was doing the right thing, yet Jesus completely redirected him. How can we remain humble enough to recognize when God is asking us to change course?
  • How has God’s grace changed you since you first understood the truth about Jesus? Where do you see evidence that He is still growing and changing you?
  • What part of your past do you need to believe God can redeem and use for His purpose?
  • If Jesus is asking you to change direction today, what is one step of obedience you can take?
  • What would it look like to trust that God’s redirection isn’t taking something from you, but leading you into something greater?
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Look How Far You’ve Come

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Philippians 1:6 — I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

Summer always ends in a flash.

Watermelon, late-night swim parties, and sleeping in disappeared the moment Mom pulled out the camera and asked me to stand by the front door for a picture.

As a kid, I never understood why those back-to-school pictures mattered.

I smiled, waited for it to be over, and wondered what there was to celebrate.

It wasn’t until college that I finally understood.

My parents had spent years doing the quiet, often unnoticed work of raising me. They corrected me, encouraged me, and loved me through every phase.

Those pictures weren’t really for me.

They were for them.

They marked another year of watching God faithfully shape their child.

And now, when I look at those old snapshots, I realize something else.

While I was busy growing up, God was patiently working on me.

Through every awkward phase, every hard season, every bad attitude, and every ordinary day, He never stopped shaping me into who He created me to be.

The parents and teachers who endured sleepy mornings, teenage moods, and all the growing pains were some of the people He faithfully used along the way.

As children, the end of summer felt like bad news.

But looking back, I can see that every season had a purpose.

The difficult ones grew perseverance.

The joyful ones revealed God’s goodness.

And none of them were wasted.

That’s the promise of Philippians 1:6.

The God who begins the work is the God who finishes it.

He’s still working in the seasons you don’t understand.

He’s still working when you don’t see progress.

He’s still working when you look at your life and wonder, “Am I ever going to get there?”

Maybe that’s why those old school pictures mean so much now.

They’re little reminders that while life kept moving, God never stopped working.

So before you rush into whatever season comes next, take a moment to look back.

Remember where you started.

Remember what God has brought you through.

Remember the people He used along the way.

You may discover that the God who has carried you this far is still faithfully finishing the beautiful work He began.

And I’ve got pictures to prove it.

 

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

  • When you look back over the last few years, where can you see evidence that God has been working in your life?
  • What season of your life felt difficult at the time but now looks different in hindsight?
  • Who has God used to help shape you into the person you are today?
  • Is there an area of your life where you’ve become discouraged because you don’t see much progress? How does Philippians 1:6 speak to that?
  • What would change if you truly believed that God isn’t finished with you yet?
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The Seeds You Never See

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Matthew 13:31-32 — Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.” 

I was scrolling Instagram the other day when a youth group friend posted an old photo of us from middle school.

I laughed at the awkward hairstyles and clothes, but then I stopped looking at the fashion and started looking at the faces.

Most of us have grown up and drifted apart.

Yet for a moment, I was right back in those church hallways where Wednesday nights felt ordinary and life felt simple.

We didn’t know we were making memories back then.

We just showed up to play games, talk with friends, and learn about Jesus.

Looking back, I realize God is still in the business of planting mustard seeds.

Those evenings were seeds that felt too ordinary to notice.

But that’s exactly how the Kingdom works.

It starts small.

A seed slips into the soil, and for a while, nobody sees anything happening. Nobody knows what it’s becoming.

The people who shaped me most weren’t on a stage.

They were the ones planting those tiny seeds.

Volunteers. Youth leaders. Faithful friends who simply kept showing up and pointing us gently toward Jesus.

I doubt they thought they were doing anything extraordinary. They probably just thought they were serving at church.

But decades later, I can see that those little seeds grew roots.

And their fingerprints are still all over my life.

That’s the beautiful thing about faithfulness: you may never know what God is growing through your obedience.

Somewhere tonight, someone is doing that for the next generation.

Maybe it’s you.

Maybe it feels like just another youth group night. Another conversation. Another game. Another Bible study. Another Wednesday when you’re tired but you show up anyway.

Don’t underestimate that seed.

Because what feels small in your hands may become something much bigger in God’s hands.

Years from now, someone may look back at an old photo and remember the person who showed up.

The person who cared.

The person who pointed them toward Jesus.

And they’ll thank God for the seed you planted.

So keep showing up.

Keep loving.

Keep planting.

You may not see the tree yet, but God sees what the seed can become.

 

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

  • Who planted a small “mustard seed” of faith in your life that eventually made a big difference?
  • Is there something you’re doing right now that feels ordinary or insignificant? How might God be using it?
  • Where might God be asking you to simply show up and be faithful?
  • What generation or group of people has God placed in front of you to encourage or point toward Jesus?
  • How does remembering that God controls the growth change the way you think about your role in planting seeds?
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