The Carolina Panthers will have a new head coach this season as Matt Rhule takes over following his time at Baylor. He's never been an NFL head coach, the Panthers defense is extremely young, and their former franchise quarterback is gone. Fans and management understand there will be a need for patience as the new coaching staff transitions.
After being the worst team last season, the Cincinnati Bengals hope to be better under 2nd-year head coach, Zac Taylor. However, they will have a rookie quarterback under center and everyone will have to be patient as Joe Burrow learns the NFL game.
As you look across the NFL, there are other situations and head coaches who are not going to be given the same kind of leeway and patience.
Matt Nagy and the Chicago Bears, along with Kliff Kingsbury and the Arizona Cardinals, need to show positive progress this year and show they can get their teams to the next level. Matt Patricia in Detroit and Vic Fangio in Denver need to demonstrate they are reliable NFL head coaches.
All four of these coaches were hired in 2018 or 2019, but their fan bases won't be as patient as they expect more victories than last year.
The bottom line is that head coaches in the NFL are facing expectations based on their experience and the amount of time they’ve been with the franchise. Eventually, coaches must produce wins and can’t remain in the same spot as when they started.
There is a parallel found here regarding each of our faith journeys. When we begin following Jesus, some things about our life will change immediately, but other mindsets and behaviors will take some time to adjust.
At first, the Bible is new to us and we’re learning to follow a completely different playbook, but Jesus transforms our lives as we learn, grow, and implement His truth.
While patience and understanding are needed for new believers, there comes a point where maturity, fruit, and profound life change should be evident.
We have to move past making excuses, as we should be experiencing more and more victories in our lives. We need to take clear steps forward from struggling with the sins we once did, and surround ourselves with the right people.
We don’t want to remain in the same spot as when we started following Jesus because He has so much more to do in us and through us.
The Bible describes the difference between spiritual infancy and spiritual maturity in Hebrews 5:12-14 (AMP):
“For though by this time you ought to be teachers , you actually need someone to teach you again the elementary principles of God’s Word , and you have come to be continually in need of milk, not solid food.
“For everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a spiritual infant. But solid food is for the mature, whose senses are trained by practice to distinguish between what is morally good and what is evil.”
Today, let’s not remain stuck but pursue a deeper understanding of God’s Word so our faith will grow and we’ll be more equipped to know what is right (and get more wins!).
I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I’m thankful for how long I’ve known You and I pray You would continue to help me grow and mature so I can understand even deeper spiritual truths. Help me to pursue You with all of my heart and not settle. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
Discussion Questions for PACKS:
What areas of your life have taken the longest to change?
In what ways do you still feel like a spiritual infant?
In what ways have you seen the most change or spiritual maturity?
Comments