Become A Trophy for God
by Olga Hermans
By now everybody knows Tim Tebow who made a mark in college football as a University of Florida Gator with his strong arm and with his determined play with the Denver Broncos. He is also known for his unwavering and bold Christian faith.
Tim is the son of parents that are missionaries to the Philippines and has become a very influential athlete in professional sports. I heard an interview with Tim, where he said how proud he is of his mother, who made a strong decision in her early pregnancy with him NOT to abort him. Her life was threatened with what the doctors thought was a tumor, which they later found out was just a tiny piece of placenta. Tim gives God all the glory for it.
Tim emphasized that it wasn’t really a choice for his mother. She never would have chosen to not give him a chance; she had the same determination about her pregnancy and that she would trust God as he said he has.
Tim accepted Christ when he was 7 years old. He grew up and became extremely competitive. He played baseball, basketball, and football, but most of all football. There was a desire in him to be a hero for Jesus and that led him to the University of Florida, where football became his platform.
I think Tim is such a great example to all of us in the way he looks at things. People look up to football players. As a football player, you have been given a platform, which is far more important than any touchdown or trophy or anything you could win with football. It is taking that platform and being able to influence people. Tim’s dad taught Tim that with this position he could go into any school and share any message he wants around the country, around the world.
Many people know him for all the trophies he won, and others know him for the verse that he uses in everything that he does and that is John 3:16
He did one little thing; Tim had this scripture painted just below his eyes and because him doing that, the secular media displayed this throughout the earth, which made people look it up online; what a testimony. There were 19 million people who googled this scripture. Tim did something unusual and brought something unusual about!
There was one Sunday that the NFL wouldn’t allow him to paint the scripture under his eyes, but he said that John 3:16 was his most favorite Bible verse. Tim threw exactly 316 yards and an average of 31.6 yards. The odd of this happening is just unbelievable; it would never happen if you would plan to do it. The world calls him a huge phenomenon.
They call him a miracle by the numbers. Tim had nearly 9500 tweets a second; that is more than after the death of Bin Laden or the death of Steve Jobs and even more than during the royal wedding, but Tim never took the credit; he always gives the credit to Jesus. What a great success story!
So, what can we learn from Tim’s example? I truly believe that everybody has potential for greatness, but just having potential is not enough unless you are willing to take a risk, step out, and let God go to work in your life. We have potential because God places gifts and talents in us, but they must be developed.
Many people today are wasting their potential because they are not developing what God has placed in them. Instead of developing what they have, they worry about what they don’t have, and their potential just goes down the tubes.
The reason for this might be that you think that others may not see you as having much worth, but the truth is that God sees you as priceless! You are valuable to God! And you are valuable here on this earth to someone out there who knows how to look deeply and envision the contributions you could make. Everyone has a gift and it’s a matter of matching your gift to the right people who can appreciate you for who you are and what you have to offer to the world.
Tim Tebow had to make a choice to discipline the gift that was on the inside of him. I believe you are reading this article because God wants to do more with your life than you have ever imagined. You too have a tremendous capacity and potential that needs to be developed. You have to know that we are never fulfilled until we become all we can be.
Each of us has a destiny, and unless we are pressing toward fulfilling it, we will be frustrated in life. Moving up to the next level requires a decision to press in, to let go of what lies behind and refuse to be mediocre. Those are attributes that we can see clearly in the life of Tim Tebow. He surely is not a mediocre person.
The fingerprints of God are all over you. God knew you before you were born. He has planned out all your days for good. Don’t let potential lie dormant. Tap into that buried treasure. Share your gifts with the world. You have more in you than you realize.
There is talent you haven’t yet discovered. You may have had some great victories in your past, but that is nothing compared to what God has in your future. You know you are not average, you are not ordinary.
Even right now I am declaring that the treasure buried in you will come out. I am calling forth the dreams, the gifts, the talents, the businesses, the ideas, the inventions, the books, the songs, the movies. I am calling forth your untapped potential.
I pray that you will be stepping into a new season. You will have to have confidence to do things you wouldn’t do before. You will feel a supernatural strength. Supernatural doors will open for you. Supernatural opportunities are coming your way. Don’t shrink back. Don’t be intimidated.
God is saying to you what He said to Joshua: “Be strong and of good courage, for the Lord your God is with you.” You may have been told a thousand times what you can’t do. But I am here to tell you what you can do.
You are valuable and you are God’s craftsmanship. When you get a revelation of your worth in God, it will transform your life. Most people lack a sense of worth or value in their life due to things that have happened to them in the past.
Many people have had to deal with feelings of inferiority because of the putdowns in their lives. But when they start to understand their value in God, you will start to value other people. You are a champion. You have been prepared for such a time as this.
Be a Tim Tebow in the area that you are good in. The world wants to know the God of Tim Tebow, just as they wanted to know the God of Daniel. Show them what God has shown you; be a light in the darkness of other people. Our God can show off and one of the things He shows off on is a platform of impossibility. Impossibilities don’t scare God – He works with impossibilities!
Somebody wants to hear what God has done for you; somebody needs to hear of what God can do. Your life is a personal trophy of the work of God.
Start seeing yourself as worthy to give your talents and creativity — whatever it is, God has the perfect plan for you and just like Tim Tebow, if you stay persistent in your dreams and prayers, then His favor will make a way for you to prosper. You are valuable!
Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. (Luke 12:7)
I like to end this post with a quote from Tim Tebow:
“Well, when people meet me, I hope that they say this-this is a guy who, number one, loves the Lord, but he also loves people and he wants to make a difference in people’s lives. And he wants to help everyone he comes in contact with and he is genuine, he is real, and he cares about people. And it’s not about the scoring touchdowns, or being famous, or anything like that. But its about relationships, its about making a difference in people’s lives, and at the end of the day it’s about glorifying God.”