“I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:1-2 NIV)
A young man had one great move on the basketball court. Let me describe it. With the ball in his hand, slightly bent over, his eyes looking at his defender’s feet, the young man would fake like he was going left, causing the opponent defending him to slide his feet dramatically in that direction. Back in the day, they called it “breaking ankles.” Once the defender was off balance, moved partially out of the way, unable to recover fast enough, the young man with the ball would usually either drive to the basket for an easy basket or take an open jump shot. Time after time this move worked. But it did not work forever. This is what happened. A scout of one of the opposing teams, doing his job, came to watch a game because the was scouting for would play the young man’s team the following Saturday. The scout sat in the upper bleachers, clipboard in hand, taking notes on the opposing team tendencies and individual player tendencies. He observed the young man faking left and going right continuously, time after time, and successfully either scoring or drawing attention from one of his teammate’s defenders. In the case of the latter scenario, while the young man did not score, he got the ball to his open teammate that was left wide open, and he scored for the team.
The scout went back and informed the team he was scouting for about this player’s tendency to fake left and go right. So, when they played on that Saturday, the person assigned to defend the young man did not go for the fake. He had been schooled in practice. He intentionally played him to the right, forcing the young man to go left. That defensive strategy cut down on the young man’s scoring and the number of times he assisted his teammates. The scout had done his job well. The young man’s coach had to work with him to find other ways to get open and help his team. He was told in no uncertain terms, in “coach talk,” “Don’t keep going to your right!”
How does this story benefit you? Keep reading! As far as your moves (plural on purpose) as a believer in life, which is not a game at all, I am not going to help you find other ways to perform. No sir! No ma’am! I’m going to encourage you to keep going to your right because I know it works every single time against your opponents: Satan, the secular world and the seducing flesh. Why would I give you such advice to keep going to your tight? The answer is simple. Your right move is to trust in the Lord and not lean on your own understanding. Your right move is to go boldly to the throne of our gracious God. For you see, your help comes from the Lord and He will give you the victory. Keep going to your right; right to the throne of grace, right to the word of God, right to the fellowship of the saints, right to improving your serve by serving others! Yes, unlike the young man above, you have more than one right move, but again I say, “Keep going to your right!” Perfect your “right” moves! Have a fantastic Friday! Win one, wind one day; win one for the Lord! Be blessed!
“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” (Hebrews 4:16 NLT)
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King