The One Who Stayed Behind

THE ONE WHO STAYED BEHIND
 
Dimitar Berbatov and Christiano Ronaldo 
played for Manchester United in the 
2008/2009 football session. 
That was the only season both players 
were on the books of Manchester United 
at the same time.
Berbatov said of Ronaldo; “I was lucky 
to play alongside Ronaldo for a season. 
He was 100% professional, on the 
training pitch and off it. 
I don't remember him ever being late 
for training. 
He was always preparing in the gym, after 
training he would stay and do extra work 
like working on his shooting, then he 
would go swimming and go to the gym 
again….”
The club had strict training sessions. 
The players had to fit into the training 
schedules to stay fit and competitive. 
They all wanted to excel. 
They stuck religiously to these training 
schedules. 
Their lifestyles- their training, eating, 
drinking, sleeping- everything was 
under scrutiny. 
They were professional athletes, their 
physical fitness was a key to their 
success. 
So they aligned themselves to these 
rigid training schedules.
when the training sessions were over, 
the players would leave for home. 
But Ronaldo would stay behind. 
He would train more. 
He would practice more. 
He would go swimming to tone his 
muscles more. He would go to the 
gym to increase his stamina.
He stayed behind.
He got rewarded for it: none of his club 
colleagues ever won a Ballon d’Or: 
he won 5.
He was 36 on the 5th of February, 2021. 
He is fitter than the average 21-year-old.
There is a price for staying behind. 
There is a price for doing more.
 
SCENE ONE: Numbers 33: 8-11. JOSHUA
Moses had set up the Tabernacle 
outside the camp. He would go in 
there to meet with God as all the 
Israelites watched in awe. 
Moses would go in with his assistant, 
Joshua. 
He would hold discussions with God, 
they would talk “as a man speaks 
with his friend” (verse 11). 
When they were done talking, 
Moses would leave the Tabernacle.
BUT JOSHUA WOULD STAY BEHIND!
The young man would remain in there, 
like Ronaldo. He wanted to know 
God for himself. 
He didn’t want to be quoting his pastor, 
like many Christians do today. 
He didn’t want to be telling people, 
“Pastor Moses said…” He wanted to 
have a personal encounter with God. 
He wanted to KNOW God without an 
intermediary. His hunger for God was 
rewarded: God asked Moses to hand 
over the leadership of the people to 
him when his tenure came to an end. 
Joshua became the one who led the 
Israelites into the Promised Land.
 
SCENE TWO: 1st Samuel 3: 1-4. SAMUEL
Samuel was a servant of Eli, just as 
Joshua was to Moses. He was an “Altar Boy”- 
His job was to do the menial jobs in the 
Tabernacle: light the candles, sweep the 
place, clean the tables and all the stuff 
therein. 
His master, Eli the High Priest would 
come in and perform his religious duty. 
Eli would leave the Tabernacle when 
he was done.
BUT SAMUEL WOULD STAY BEHIND!
Samuel would sleep in the Tabernacle! 
On one of those days he stayed behind 
to sleep in the Tabernacle, God spoke 
to him. 
He had an encounter with God. 
His life took a different trajectory after 
that encounter. 
God ordained him a Prophet and the 
Spiritual Leader of Israel. 
He became God’s spokesman to the 
people, he became the go-to guy for 
anyone who needed direction in life. 
He anointed Saul and David as King 
over Israel.
He stayed behind. 
He got promoted from Altar Boy to 
Prophet.
 
SCENE Three: John 20: 1-16. MARY 
MAGDALENE
Mary Magdalene went to the Tomb 
early in the morning before dawn on 
the 3rd day of the crucifixion and 
death of Jesus. 
She noticed the stone had been rolled 
away. She ran to inform the “Big Boys”, 
Peter and John. 
They ran to the Tomb to confirm the info. 
Mary hurried after them. 
They got there before her, they went in, 
saw the napkin and linen used to wrap 
the body of Jesus. 
They looked at each other: “He must be 
risen indeed!” Peter submitted. “Yeah, 
He said He would, now He has!” 
John agreed. 
In that moment, Mary Magdalene got 
there too. “Mary, you’re right! 
The Lord is risen!” Peter said. 
John nodded. They took their leave. 
What else is there to do, anyway?
BUT MARY STAYED BEHIND!
She stood there, weeping. 
As she wept, she looked inside the 
Tomb and saw 2 angels! 
The “Big Boys” had gone. 
They didn’t wait long enough to see 
the angels. But Mary Magdalene did. 
She talked with them. 
And she turned: There was Jesus! 
The risen Jesus! But she didn’t 
recognize Him: He had resurrected 
in a celestial body. But when she 
called her name, “Mary…” she 
recognized Him!
She stayed behind: she became the 
first person to see the risen Jesus.
 
Sometimes, the reason you have not 
gotten what you want, the reason why 
you are not where you aspire to be is 
simply because you leave too early. 
Stay behind a while longer: you just 
may meet with destiny…
 
Shalom,
Haruna Daniels.