Daily Devotions for Die-Hard Kids: Baylor Bears Excerpt

Read Matthew 11:27-30.
Jesus said, “Come to me and I will give you rest.”

Baylor’s offense scored so fast and so much that kicker Aaron Jones sometimes got tired.

Jones is the greatest placekicker in Baylor history and one of college football’s best ever. Helped out by Baylor’s point-a-minute-offense, he set a bunch of records. He kicked the most extra points in college history.

In high school, he was a soccer player but didn’t get any college offers. So he walked on the Baylor football team in 2009. He didn’t get into any games that season.

In 2010, head coach Art Briles held an open competition at practice to find the kicker for his football team. Jones won the job.

He was so active that kicking sometimes tired him out. After all, he kicked all the field goals and PATs and the kickoffs. That meant he had to run down the field to cover. He also spent most of every game warming up on the sideline by kicking into a net.

In the 66-42 stomping of Texas Tech in 2011, he kicked off eleven times and booted nine extra points and a field goal. “That’s the most tired I’ve ever been,” he said.

Don’t you just get tired sometime? Maybe after a tough day at school when you stayed up too late the night before. Have you ever gotten so tired on a trip that you fell asleep in the back seat of the car?

Everybody gets tired, especially grown-ups. And sometimes, like grown-ups, you have to do what Aaron Jones had to do. You have to keep going no matter how tired you are. That’s a good time to pray to Jesus. When you do that, you have the power of almighty God to help you and give you strength.

Talk about the last time you fell asleep on the floor. Why were you so tired? Did you know God can give you strength?