The NFL is busy right now as some teams are preparing for the next round of the playoffs and others are in the process of hiring a new head coach.
The teams that will fill or have already filled the vacancy at head coach include the Eagles, Chargers, Jaguars, Jets, Texans, Falcons, and Lions.
Every year, the majority of coaching changes involve the franchise deciding to go in the opposite direction when deciding on the type of hire they want to make.
This means that a team that struggled in recent years with an offensive-minded coach will bring in a new coach who has a defensive background. A team that failed with a young unproven coach will most likely decide on a more veteran guy.
These types of decisions are already being made. The Jets, for example, have announced their switch from Adam Gase (a tough personality with an offensive focus) to 49ers’ Robert Saleh (a very likable, high energy, and defensive-minded coach).
In Jacksonville, the Jaguars are replacing veteran NFL coach, Doug Marrone with the charismatic, former college coach, Urban Meyer.
Meanwhile, the Falcons moved on from the defensive-minded, Dan Quinn, and appear to be handing the reigns to the young offensive coordinator from the Titans, Arthur Smith.
Seeing all of these teams implement an opposite approach and become a different team from recent years will be very interesting. They’ve put new leadership in place and the players must decide to yield to the direction the team is now heading.
Many of us may have started the New Year realizing we need to make changes that are opposite from how we thought and acted in 2020. Perhaps we now understand that worrying and being impatient…ungrateful…
Thankfully, when we daily surrender to Jesus and yield to the Holy Spirit, we can go a new direction and live the opposite way from our previous flesh-filled life. When we choose to allow new leadership to take over, we can operate differently from the sinful world around us.
The Bible says in Ephesians 4:21-24 (NLT), “Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from Him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.”
Just like when the new head coach takes over an NFL locker room and the old mindsets, strategies, and bad habits have to go, we can get rid of what used to drag us down.
We must acknowledge, however, that this is challenging to do because of the daily battle we face: giving in to our fleshly desires and old ways or going the opposite direction and yielding to the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16-17 (NLT) offers us this encouragement: “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants.
And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.”
Living a Spirit-filled life allows us to become the opposite of who we used to be. Today, let’s “hand over the reigns” so we can witness the positive results promised us in Galatians 5:22-23 (AMP):
“But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…”
I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Spirit to live within me and empower me to live the opposite way from what my flesh desires. Help me yield to Your Spirit and allow You to guide me so that I can experience fruit in my life. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
Discussion Questions for PACKS:
-
What changes are you looking to make in your life and in what ways do you desire to be the opposite of what you’ve been previously?
-
What holds you back from yielding to the Spirit?
