As coaches, we live and die by our decisions. We spend hours analyzing film, scripting the perfect opening drive, and agonizing over situational depth charts. When a critical game is on the line, the pressure to make the exact right call can be completely paralyzing. If we guess right, we’re heroes; if we guess wrong, we can feel like the entire season just slipped away.

Unfortunately, many Christian coaches carry this exact same high-stakes, high-anxiety framework into their spiritual lives. We tend to view God’s will as a hyper-specific blueprint where we are personally responsible for guessing correctly. If we make the right choice, we win his favor and find success; if we make a single misstep, our entire destiny is ruined, and we are left stranded.

In his book, The Will of God as a Way of Life, Gerald Sittser describes this agonizing, conventional way of looking at God’s will:

"Conventional understanding of God’s will defines it as a specific pathway we should follow into the future... Our responsibility is to discover this pathway—God’s plan for our lives…If and when we make the right choice, we will receive his favor, fulfill our divine destiny and succeed in life…If we choose wrongly, we may lose our way, miss God’s will for our lives, and remain lost forever in an incomprehensible maze."

Sound familiar? It looks exactly like a defensive coordinator trying to guess an opponent’s next play when it's third and five with zero scouting reports. But here is the liberating truth:

God is not a micromanaging head coach waiting for you to mess up the play call.

What God’s Will is NOT

To live in true freedom and confidence, you have to dismantle in your mind three common misperceptions about God’s will:

• 👉It is not a choose-your-own-adventure playbook. God’s plan is not a fragile script where turning to the wrong page means your career dies a horrible death. Romans 8:28 promises that God will not be hampered in his ultimate will to work all things together for your good. He is bigger than your worst tactical error or most devastating loss both on and off the field.
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• 👉It is not a fairy tale of undefeated seasons. God cares infinitely more about your eternal character and the hearts of your athletes than he does about your temporal comfort or your win-loss record. Just because you experience a brutal season, a toxic culture shift, or an administrative headache does not mean you missed God’s will. It means God is using these fires to forge Christlike character in you.
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• 👉It is not a target you can somehow miss. Christian theology teaches us to separate God’s will of command (what he explicitly tells us to do in Scripture) from his will of decree (his sovereign, unstoppable future plan). While you can certainly disobey his commands, you cannot escape his sovereign decree. Your mistakes do not relegate your life to an inevitable “God's second-best plan.”
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Stop Asking the Wrong Scouting Question

When it comes to big program shifts—like whether to transition your team to a new offensive system, bench a struggling star player, or accept a new coaching position across the country—we often freeze up. We ask: “What is God's secret hidden plan for this decision?” But except in incredibly rare circumstances, God does not give us the game film of our future ahead of time.

Asking “Should I accept this job?” is trying to guess his secret decree. A far better question to ask yourself is: “Is it wise?”

Instead of searching for a secret decoder ring, look at your roster, look at your family, look at your finances, look at your local church, and ask: "Does this decision allow me to best seek first his kingdom and his righteousness? Is this the best decision, not just for me, but my team and my family?" If the answer is yes, make the call with confidence and trust the Lord.

The Final Whistle

Scripture gives us beautiful, enduring principles to guide our leadership (see other articles on this month’s theme), but it leaves the freedom of human wisdom intact. God guides our decisions through the discernment he has already deposited in us. As you lead your staff and your athletes this week, let your ultimate prayer be one of deep relief: that by his sovereign grace, he would empower you to make decisions that turn out to be far wiser than you are.