“I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.” Ephesians 3:16
When I would become frustrated at work or needed a sum of money for a particular reason, one of my favorite expressions used to be, “Well maybe I’ll win the lottery.” The person to whom I was speaking would often say, “Do you play?” To which I would reply, “Well, no I don’t.” Rather dumbfounded, the comeback frequently was – “Don’t you know you have to play to win.” I’d just smile and say, “Oh really?”
Recently the Seattle Seahawks’ fullback Derrick Coleman has received national attention. At the age of 3, he was diagnosed as deaf. No one would have guessed then that someday he would be going to the Super Bowl. After facing rejection and fighting for himself all of his life, he became the first deaf player in the NFL. He was just that determined. Coleman gained notoriety when his story was highlighted in a battery commercial, using the tagline, “Trust the Power Within.”
One of the first lessons children who play sports learn is how to face life in the eyes of defeat; how to get back up when you fall down. To be an effective witness for Christ, one of the things we also need to embrace is staying in the game – how to “keep on keeping on” as some say. We were never promised that as a Christian we would not have to deal with opposition, adversity, and discouragement. In fact, it is our response to hardship that demonstrates our faith. Scripture states it like this: “So don’t throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” (Hebrews 10: 35-36)
Winning a Super Bowl would be great, but true happiness doesn’t depend solely on winning. “At the end of the day, football doesn’t define me,” states the Seattle Seahawks’ quarterback Russell Wilson. Living life to the fullest with confidence in the source of the power within keeps us in the game regardless of what the final numbers are on the scoreboard.
REFLECTION: As Christians we have heard the expression, “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future.” How can you translate those words to a person you know who is having trouble coping with life? How does God’s Holy Comforter provide an inner “peace that passeth all understanding” for you? Could you possibly use a sports analogy to help someone better understand how to find spiritual confidence in the face of adversity?
For more inspiration about some of the players who are taking the field in this year’s Super Bowl, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxznMSLI7-M
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