STRETCHED

Ever thought about the purpose of a rubber band?  Actually, a rubber band is not useful until it’s stretched.  If you put a rubber band around a set of papers and the band is too big, you pretty much are just as good without it.  But, when the rubber band is stretched to fit around the papers to hold them together, it becomes one of the greatest invention ever!  But, if we stretch a rubber band too much or too far, it breaks.

When you think about it, our life as officials should be much like a rubber band.  Unless we are stretched as officials, we will never reach our full potential or learn and grow to be better officials.  Much like our faith—unless it is stretched, put to the test, it is useless.  We all need to examine whether we are being stretched to become stronger in our officiating and in our faith.  Are we serving with our talents and abilities—stretching our rubber band?  At the same time, we also need to examine if we are being stretched too much—we don’t want to hit our breaking point.

What happens when we step out and stretch--God shows up and does what we can’t do. We need to keep putting ourselves in situations where we say to ourselves, “God, if You don’t show up, I am bound to fail. I can’t do this in my own strength.”

Improvement comes at the edge of our comfort zone.  To become a better official, to improve our crew, and to grow in our faith, we have to be stretched!

Consider these things that God may want you to do when you are stretched (from Pastor Chris Russell)

• God may want you to DO something.
• God may want you to STOP DOING something.
• God may want you to GIVE something.
• God may want you to SAY something.
• God may want you to STOP SAYING something.
• God may want you to START something.
• God may want you to END something.
• God may want you to LOVE someone.

Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. Isaiah 54: 2