LDS FC: Our Manager

You thought I was done, didn't you? Well, the game of football doesn't only happen on the field! There's a lot done on the sidelines, by the supporting cast. The manager is a noble position to hold on the football club. It takes years and years to work your way up to that spot, and then several more years to be someone of note. You really have to perform well under pressure, and whip your team into top shape to be regarded as a manager.
There are many notable coaches and managers out there who have worked their way to a solid grounding, including Carlo Ancelotti, Arsène Wenger, Sir Alex Ferguson, Andre Villa-Boas, Jose Mourinho, and Bob Bradley. These men are incredible in their line of work, and are just as renowned, and sometimes even more renowned, then their players. Much as it pains me to admit such things about Wenger and Ferguson, give credit where credit is due. The manager is the one who calls the shots. He organizes everything, from practices to workouts, strategies and game plans, and makes sure everything runs just as smoothly as possible. They need to know the game inside out and backwards, but more importantly, they need to know their players.
A good manager knows each of his players strengths and weaknesses, where the perform the best, and how they react under any circumstance. They know their players almost perfectly. And because of this knowledge, they can make the perfect lineup against another team. Their understanding of what threats the other team brings, and their own team's potential and capabilities allows them to make the best possible decision. Even when others, including the players themselves, don't understand just what the manager was thinking, he knows what he's doing and (usually) is making the right call. He stays in the background, not on the field scoring the goals, but if it wasn't for the manager, nothing would get done.

Ok, I think it's pretty obvious where I'm going with this... process of elimination would lead you to the conclusion that the manager is none other than our Heavenly Father. He knows us all perfectly! He knows our strengths and weaknesses, and how we'll react under any situation. He knows where we would fit best, what purpose we can accomplish, and who we would work with. He knows exactly what threats Satan has in store for us, and is thus able to make the perfect line up to fight him. He gives instructions to the players, from the background, the sidelines, and encourages where He can, but He can't (and won't) come on to the field and play the game for us. He can't score the goals or block the shots, He can only give us top notch leadership, and help us to train and practice to prepare ourselves. It's still our game, and we're still the players, but we have the best Manager ever to help us to win! No one knows the game, His own players, and the other teams' players better than our Heavenly Father. All we have to do is listening to his advice, cause it's good. He knows what's up. Nothing out there is a surprise to Him. There are no trick plays, no secret weapons, no sudden, last minute switch ups that He doesn't know about, and the He can't combat. The team is only as good as its manager, and is there any better manager than God, Himself? He's undefeated! And undefeatable. So, that cup is as good as ours, as long as we're willing to play as a strong, cohesive unit, and listen to the counsels of our coach!

Unlike our Heavenly Father, however, not all mangers are perfect...