"Ouch! I Crashed Again!"

I Don't Know What Happened!

I would imagine many a competitor has made this statement following a sudden crash in the competition. They were going along just fine and doing very well in the race when suddenly they found themselves tumbling down the race track and taking one or more of their closest competitors down with them!

I'll never forget the time I was playing soccer against Covenant High School and I was running towards the fullback kicking the ball in front of me when I took my eyes off of the ball for a second to catch a glimpse of this huge guy just standing there in a body building pose and I was distracted enough to let the ball get too far in front of me. The next thing I knew, that guy had booted that ball with every ounce of energy he had and the ball planted itself right into my face. needless to say, "I crashed to the ground" and was out for a minute or two but the agony didn't begin until I regained my consciousness. It took everything I had to pick my swollen head up but I stayed in the game. I wanted to play more than anything! I had learned that day to keep playing, even when it hurt!

It doesn't just happen in races either! It happens in almost every sport. For example in football when a blocker falls and the quarterback gets clobbered or in basketball when the ball is stolen from a player right before he makes his shot. It always leaves with those words echoing through our minds, "I don't know what happened!", that is until the coach gets us on the sideline and fills our ear with his incredible wisdom and knowledge that clears up our thinking. Yes, the coach could see it so much more clearly from the sideline than we could in the game. That's why they call them coaches! That's what they do, they coach us along through our game and teach us to do better.

As I was watching the BMX bike races in the Olympics, I had to wonder why the best competitors in this sport from all around the world would come to the Olympics to participate in the race of their life and end up crashing? What a disappointment it must have been for them!

They had spent months or years preparing for this day. It wasn't that they hadn't done this a thousand times or that they were not in top condition to run the race! They were ready and they were set but they may not have been quite ready to "GO" when the race started! There may have been some kind of complication in their equipment that had been overlooked when doing a final check or there could have been an interruption that took their minds off of the race just for a second when the race began and in their struggle to get back the lost time they miscalculated as they were going into a turn and bumped someone or made a wrong move that sent them flying through the air. I know you have seen it too, as the other players try to avoid the mess created by the accident of a fellow competitor. I know you have also seen that the competitors didn't come to a stop in mid-play and run to the rescue of the one who crashed. There were others for this purpose and they would tend to the wounded. The competitor's purpose was to finish the race in the best time or score the touchdown or make the basket in time to win the game! Then it would be said that they had done their best whether they had won or lost the competition.

Let's look at what Paul says about life and what we should do when we get into a mess like this,

Philipians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Paul is saying that he doesn't claim to have checked everything and has found himself to have everything exactly right all the time as he would like to have been. What he says though is that this one thing that he does do is to leave the past behind him! He puts the mistakes and blunders he had made before into the past so that he says he doesn't even remember them. Then he says that what he does next is to reach forward to the things that are before him to do. He doesn't say that he does it with whatever he has left or he'll finish the race but it may not be possible to win! Paul says that he is going to press or pursue towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus! If we look at the Greek literal meaning of this verse it would sound something like this, "I pursue after the things that I ought to do to receive the "award of excellence" when God in Christ Jesus bids me come". Another words, Paul is teaching everyone to forget the crashes; forget the mistakes and move forward doing only what we ought to do to receive that "award of excellence" from the one who forgives us of all of our past.
How do we deal with the crashes in our lives? How can we forget and move on? Some may say, "I just can't seem to do that" or "You just don't know what I've been through". Let's look further down at what Paul is saying to the ones who felt just as you do today.

Philipians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Php 4:7 And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Php 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

When Paul says to be careful for nothing, he isn't saying to go get yourself hurt, but what he does mean is that we are to not be anxious for any reason! If you have been through marital issues, divorce, abusive relationship with a spouse or parent, financial storms, physical illness, job loss, disappointments with friends or family, we are told to not be anxious but rather to talk to God about the situation in prayer and express your desires and thank God for what He is about to do in your life and the things that He has done in your life. It is hope that causes the person who crashes on the track to get back up and race again. Anxiety will cause us to have a spirit of fear and despair! In verse seven it explains what happens when we follow the guidelines in verse six. It says that the peace of God that passes ALL understanding will keep your hearts AND minds through Christ Jesus. YOU WILL NOT PERISH IN YOUR TIME OF TROUBLE! GOD'S PEACE WILL KEEP YOUR MIND AND HEARTS STABLE AND AT PEACE!

But you first have to follow the guidelines that are written for us to follow when we crash! These guidelines are finalized in verse eight!

Philipians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Php 4:9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

How can I do this when I am surrounded by confusion and people who are not living this way? How can I do this when I am the only one in my circle of friends that thinks this way? How can I when it seems so hopeless right now? Just do it!

Just do it and trust that the "peace of God" will be with you!

I am going to give you my secret today! I have crashed so many times in my life and I wasn't always alone laying on the track of life trying to pick up the pieces as I looked at the others who had fell because of my mistakes. I had looked over my shoulder at the past or I hadn't made sure I was thinking on the things Paul lists in verse eight and I hit a bump in the road that sent me flying! No, I didn't want to get up sometimes! Yes, it was extremely painful sometimes and I knew that there would be scars left by the injuries I had sustained upon impact with the road. But I learned a secret right here in the chapter that we are studying that has been my strength over and over and over again!

I remembered as I thought of what Paul had been through in his life and repeated the words that he spoke to the Philipians in verses twelve and thirteen,

Philipians 4:12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.

You see, we know we are going to experience discomfort and comfort, losses and wins but no matter what happens, we are to remember where our strength comes from!
What do we do when we crash? Now you know! Don't be anxious, be strong, pray and God will give you a peace that goes beyond our understanding!

Let's pray,

Our father and Lord, I come to you today in thanksgiving for the things that I do have that your hand has blessed me with. My children who are alive and healthy, the friends that I can call and pray with, the opportunity to worship freely, the freedom to travel and see your awesome creation in our country without the worry of being bombed or shot by the enemy, the food in my pantry, the clothes that I have in my closet. There are so many things to be thankful for including the lessons learned through time of adversity. I ask you Lord to touch those who are suffering a physical illness today that have made their need known to you and the people who are going through the situations in their lives that they have no control over. I ask that your peace will be with us all today. In Jesus name, amen.