“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” II Corinthians 12:9

I remember going to my first Indiana Pacers game at Market Square Arena with my father in first grade. The Pacers were playing the Hawks, and we sat up in the rafters, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I don’t even remember if the Pacers won; in fact, I think they lost. But the experience is what I remember. I had bugged my dad for so long to go to a game, and just being there, watching Reggie Miller, wearing my No. 31 Miller jersey and pinstripe shorts, and sitting next to my dad was enough. The experience was enough.

I heard an interesting concept the other day. I was listening to Matt Chandler, the head pastor at The Village Church in Dallas, Texas, and he was talking about the civil rights movement—about how, every time African Americans worshipped together on Sunday, they would walk out of the church onto the same segregated streets they had been walking for years. Chandler’s point was this: Nothing changed. And, yet, simply being in God’s presence was enough.

Sometimes I’m so focused on change, I miss out on what God wants for me the most: To know Him. It’s a powerful illustration to think that during the civil rights movement, when they were facing so much persecution, it was God’s presence that carried them through.

By Stephen Copeland

Stephen Copeland is a staff writer and columnist at Sports Spectrum magazine. Log in here to access our most recent Training Table. Subscribe here to receive 12 issues a year and a daily sports-related devotional.