A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. – Proverbs 17:17

One of my favorite relationships in the Bible is Paul and Timothy’s. When coming to the end of his ministry, Paul writes letters to Timothy encouraging him in the faith and basically preparing Timothy to take over his ministry. You can only imagine the amount of pressure Timothy felt with such big shoes to fill like Paul’s, but also how invaluable those letters from Paul were to Timothy.

Do you have a relationship like this on your team? Some of you may be the younger player on your team, but at the very least we all know what it feels like to be the new kid on the squad. What kind of impact would it make if there were relationships like Paul and Timothy’s on your team? For those of you in Paul’s situation, older and more experienced, you should be pouring into the younger players on your team, maybe even mentoring one of them. For you “Timothys,” maybe you should take a leap of faith and ask one of the older players for help or to mentor you.

This verse in Proverbs highlights a reality in our world: adversity is coming if it’s not here already. As athletes, we face adversity every day in our practice and games, but many of you are facing greater adversity off the field. This is why the importance of a sister or brother relationship can never be overemphasized. We will all go through a time where we need someone to love, encourage, or challenge us. Look around your locker room. Who needs a sister? Who needs a brother?

  • Think about your team. Is there someone that needs a brother or sister? Is it you?
  • Pray for that person or for yourself. Remembering God’s presence in times of adversity.
  • Consider reaching out to a teammate to love and encourage them or asking a teammate for help or prayer for your situation.

Pre-Game Playlist: