WEEK 6- Humbled Before God's Greatness

MONDAY — Read the passage with your team.

     1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm.  He said: 2 "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?  3 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.

     4 "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?  Tell me, if you understand.  5 Who marked off its dimensions?  Surely you know!  Who stretched a measuring line across it?  6 On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone – 7 while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?

     8 "Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,      9 when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, 10 when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, 11 when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt'?

     12 "Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place, 13 that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it?        14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features stand out like those of a garment.  15 The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken.

     16 "Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?  17 Have the gates of death been shown to you?  Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?  18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?  Tell me, if you know all this.

Job 38:1-18

What does this passage have to say about humility?

Why is that important?

TUESDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.

1) What are a few of the things that God mentions He has done?  Can you imagine these scenes?  What do you think or feel, as you read these passages?

2) God is speaking to Job, a very godly man who has had his life devastated, but who is trying to understand why this is happening.  In what ways have you questioned or second-guessed God, in the past?  What do God’s words to Job teach us about Him, and how should this understanding of the Almighty God cause you to approach Him (and to understand yourself)?  Could it be that your questions and second-guessing are “words without knowledge” (v. 2)?

WEDNESDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.

3) What is the best game you have ever played, or the best sport moment you have ever had?  Does it pale in its glory, in comparison to what the Lord has said He has done?

4) What should a recognition of God’s greatness cause you, as an athlete, to do?  How should this impact or change your purpose, your attitude, and your habits?  What specific goals can you set, in order to engage in athletics in a way that properly reflects a recognition of the greatness of God?  Will you allow your coaches and teammates to hold you accountable to this?

THURSDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.

5) If God asked you the questions that He asked Job, how would you answer?  What would you want to express to God?

6) When we begin to understand the greatness of God, we naturally feel humbled.  Sometimes, though, that humility is hard to maintain when we are faced with the busyness and temptations of our lives.  What routines and habits can your team establish, in order to encourage one another to remember God’s greatness and maintain a posture of humility?

FRIDAY — Discuss sport applications of humility, and pray together.

· Ask your athletes to briefly reflect on what they’ve learned about humility this week, and to repeat some of those things.  (Remind them of some of the Biblical truths about humility you’ve discussed, if necessary.)

· Ask your team, “Based on what we learned about humility this week...What does a humble athlete do?”  Do not settle for vague answers; challenge your athletes to go beyond general qualities of a humble athlete, and to determine what those qualities look like in action.

· Add the results to your team’s list of descriptions of the “humble athlete”, and be sure the list is displayed somewhere that is constantly visible, as a reminder to the team.

· Pray together as a team.  Encourage your athletes to pray for your team’s growth in regard to the discipline of humility — especially in relation to some of the issues and challenges that you discussed together this week.  Challenge them to also ask for forgiveness, when applicable.  Give time for athletes to request prayer (regarding humility or anything else), and pray together.