“Pull me out coach” is not what we hear from athletes or anyone who is competitive.  Its the opposite, (as the John Fogerty song goes), “Put me in coach”.  Last week a professional baseball Manager took responsibility for losing a game because he didn’t pull the pitcher out of the game early enough.  The Pitcher, when interviewed, thanked his Manager, but said it was his own responsibility to pitch better.  What he didn’t say was that it was his own responsibility to let the Manager know that he needed to come out of the game.  Thus, why we sometimes need another person to tell us the truth that we have lost our fastball.  We don’t do this enough in our work.  We are too caught up in our egos and competitive thrust to raise our hand and say, “Given how I am performing, it’s time to let someone else take this one”.  So, we need managers who know how to assess, coach and do the right thing, in the right way; to sit someone down when they are not at their best.  I wonder how much more productive and what level of quality we could achieve if we were able to do this well?

Yesterday, I wrote of our need to take a Sabbath.  Recognizing when we are not at our best and adjusting accordingly is also part of being sure that we are rested and our body, minds and spirits are in the right place.  That place, as we know, is in the comfort of Him.  God wants us to turn the hard stuff over to Him so He can work it through with us, not apart from us.  If we are truly resting in Him then we will find that what we have been given, while not easy, can be gotten through and we will find ourselves better for it.  Come unto me is what He wants from us.

Reference: Matthew 11:28 (New Living Translation)