We... must change!

I definitively became a Liverpool fan in 1986.  I'd already been watching football a couple of years before that, although football wasn't shown very much on TV in those days.

But what really got me hooked were the Liverpool-Everton derbies, especially the FA Cup Final clash of 1986 and later, 1989, following the Hillsborough disaster.  The defeats that still irritate me to this day are the 1988 FA Cup final loss to Wimbledon, and the ridiculous FA Cup semi-final 4-3 loss to Crystal Palace in 1990, the same year Liverpool had actually beaten them 9-0 earlier in the season.

The goal that really sticks in my head is the Kenny Dalglish goal against Chelsea to win the league in 1986.  The ball was dropping over his head, he had a defender draped all over him, but he took the ball on his chest and volleyed it sweetly into the corner.

4 years later, in 1990, Liverpool won its 18th league title.  While there have been some great highlights in between - the 2001 cup treble, the 2005 Champions League win, and the 2006 FA Cup win - I've been waiting 25 more years since then for Liverpool to win the league!

So a couple of days ago, thanks to the rather dismal performance of the team so far, Liverpool appointed yet another a new manager.  A new dawn!  Again!  Like all the other avid fans, I gobbled up all the news of course... and two related things struck me about the new fellow, Jurgen Klopp.

The first was his casual confidence that, despite 25 years of barrenness, and the failures of the multitude of managers that preceded him, he would be "surprised" if, by the end of his 3-year contract, Liverpool had not won the title at least once.  It was most refreshing to hear this.  Most people try to downplay expectations, just in case things don't go well.  But this fellow really seems to think it can be done.  Despite the enormity of the task before him, he even seemed slightly nonplussed, explaining that "the situation is not so difficult as the people in this room think".

The second thing that struck me was his response to the question "What is your message to the fans?".  I was completely expecting him to say something along the lines of, "I'm honoured to work for you, you are the reason why this club exists, let's all pull together etc".  You know, the usual cliched nonsense to try to make the fans like you.  Instead, he thought about it a while, then very deliberately said

"What message for the fans...?  Hmm."

Silence.

"We... need to..."

"CHANGE."

"From doubter, to believer".

Big smile, as he realises he's hit the nail on the head.

There are a lot of things in life that seem impossible to us.  And which are, objectively, a lot more important than a game of football (notwithstanding Bill Shankly's famous quote.  Google it :)).  Maybe it's a rebellious child who refuses to listen.  Maybe a wayward spouse.  Maybe a terrible boss.  Maybe it's a career or business that refuses to take off.  Maybe a serious health issue that refuses to go away.  Maybe a fear that keeps conquering you.  Maybe a church cell or ministry that refuses to grow.  Maybe a parent or relative who doesn't care for the Gospel.

And maybe we've been working on it, and working hard for years and years and years.  Nothing seems to be happening.  So what do we do?

Stop making the problem bigger in our minds.  Never mind what other people say or think.  Impossible?  No - is there any challenge bigger than God, who loves you and is on your side?  Make the conscious decision that the problem is "not so difficult as the people in this room think".  Not because the problem is small, or that we are capable.  But because God is able.

And now that we've decided that the problem is "not so difficult as the people in this room think", what next?  We.  Need.  To change.  From doubter.  To believer.  So.

We.  Not someone else.  We.  The change is for us.  We can't control others.  But we sure can control us.  So don't wait around and hope for the people or the circumstances to change.  We change.

Need.  Recognise that change is necessary.  Not optional.  Max Lucado once said, "God loves us as we are.  But He loves us too much to leave us that way."

Change.  Romans 6:6 explains that our old man was crucified with Christ, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.  There is an old man inside of us.  He carries all our past failures, fears, shamefulness, anger, and anxiousness.  We don't have to be the old man inside of us.  Change!  Think you're the friendless sort?  Change!  Think you will never succeed in the workplace?  Change!  Think your illness is incurable?  Change!  Think your family is beyond redemption?  Change!

Doubter, to believer.  James 1:6 says "Let him ask in faith, with no doubting.  For he who doubts is like a wave, driven and tossed by the wind.  For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double minded man, unstable in all his ways."  Today, change.  From doubter, to believer.  Trust that what we earnestly pray for in His name will come to pass.  He will deliver you - whatever your situation.

According to wikipedia, Mr Jurgen Klopp is a Christian who "frequently refers to his faith in public; in a number of interviews he has referred to the importance of Jesus in his life".  He apparently once said in an interview "To be a believer, but not to want to talk about - I do not know how how it would work!"

The references are in German, so I can't verify them.  In any event, I don't know him personally, so who knows eh?  I also have no idea if Jurgen Klopp will turn out to be a more successful manager than all those before him.  But I know that he's got a much better shot at it if he really does as he says.  And I know, with even more certainty, that all of us who have God in our lives can count on Him who is stronger, and bigger than any of our apparently intractable challenges.  With God, you'll never walk alone.