Where is your umbrella?!

Heyneke Meyer, the new Springbok rugby coach, once told this story to the Bulls team before a very important game:

A group of farmers gathered together to pray for rain in their area. They took the whole day and asked for rain for the entire country. During the prayer-session a young boy came up to his dad. The boy wanted to understand what exactly happened: Son: Dad, what did you do today? Dad: We prayed for rain so that our crops might grow and we can ensure we deliver it to the marked. Son: Do you believe that it will rain? Dad: Yes, I do! Son: Then why didn't you bring an umbrella with you?

The whole purpose of him telling this story to the team was so that they should not just train and pitch up for the game, but they should be prepared for the outcome thereof. They should visualise and believe what they are asking for, they should also prepare for it, and "know" that it will happen.

I found this story very profound as it teaches us some important lessons. It is so easy to say that we believe in something or that something will happen. We can pray silently for it in our rooms, ask someone or even wish that it would happen. BUT do we know what real faith is? This story makes me think about real faith.

In the Bible we are told that we require faith like a mustard seed (Matthew 13). A mustard seed is very, very small.
The relative size of a mustard seed
To me (and this is personal) the question is always how to know that you have enough faith. How do I demonstrate it. Would I ever know until it happens?

From now on it cannot be just a matter of asking and hoping, but for real faith I have to carry my "umbrella" with. This means I have to live as in Hebrews 11 verse 1: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.

By proclaiming what I believe, I will also obtain a good testimony.



Thanks to Victor Matfield in his book Victor: My Journey, page 123 for the inspiration.


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