This is not an article about sports. After all, what would be more cliché than a post for men about sports? Bear with me.
My favorite football team (that’s ‘soccer’ for the uninitiated) is Liverpool Football Club (LFC). How did a Midwestern boy become a fan of an English soccer team? There are a lot of reasons but what captured my heart—so much so that it’s become my life’s mantra—is their anthem. Before and after every match, LFC fans sing the most famous anthem in all of world football: You’ll Never Walk Alone.
When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark
At the end of the storm
There’s a golden sky
And the sweet, silver song of the lark
Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never walk alone
What does this have to do with Sheltering Wings and Men IN Action? I’m glad you ask.
Are you walking alone?
I’ve experienced my share of storms. There have been times I didn’t think I could walk on. I’ve discovered that to walk alone is to invite disaster.
We’ve all had those experiences. What happens when the storms come and you have nobody to encourage you to keep walking? Who helps you up when you stumble and fall? Who encourages you to stay on the path when you veer off course?
If you want to reach your destination—to become the man you want to be and to leave a positive legacy in the lives of the people around you—you must walk with two companions: the Spirit inside you and a friend beside you.
The Spirit inside you
If you’re a follower of Christ, you’re never alone. Shortly before his crucifixion, Jesus told his disciples it was actually better for them if he went away. How could that be? It was because if he went away, God would send the Spirit. The Spirit of God would live within each follower—continually guiding, encouraging, strengthening, protecting, convicting, and comforting.
Because of the Spirit’s presence, I never take a step on my own. If you’ve been walking with the Spirit, you know what I mean.
A friend beside you
Even men with the Spirit inside them need a friend beside them.
I have a friend—we’ll call him Rusty. We’ve been walking together for 20 years. We’ve climbed a lot of mountains and navigated a lot of valleys: our kids’ births (and one graduation), devastating health crises, career transitions, heartache over the choices of people we love, faith struggles, difficult decisions, and so much more. I cannot tell you how good it is that all I have to do is to make a call or send a text and that he’ll be right there to provide encouragement, accountability, and strength, to challenge me, pray with me, and to remind me of God’s grace. To state it plainly, I shudder to think where I’d be if I had been walking without my friend.
Men, are you walking alone? If so, don’t take another step without finding someone to walk with. It could be a pastor, a neighbor, or a coworker. It could be someone from our Men IN Action team; after all, it’s our mission to walk together and to make a positive contribution to the lives of the people around us—especially the lives of the young people who are looking to us.
Need some inspiration?
I told you this isn’t a post about sports. And, it isn’t. But, if you need to see what it looks like when men walk together? Check out this rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone. It occurred after a miracle LFC comeback against the best team in the world. Goosebumps!
Men IN Action, with the hope provided by the Spirit inside you and a friend beside you, you’ll never walk alone.
#YNWA,
Kevin Carr
Communications Coordinator, Avon Community School Corporation
a Man IN Action
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