“With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.” — Psalm 18:29
Not long ago, a youth football play made No. 1 on SportsCenter’s top 10 plays. You read that right — youth football! It was of a little kid (I’d say maybe 7 or 8 years old) who got the hand-off from his quarterback at around the 35-yard line and started to run to his left to cut around the line of scrimmage and sprint down the side. The play was pretty well defended and he was met by a would-be tackler almost immediately. However, the kid would not be deterred and promptly gave a stiff-arm to the defender, pushing him down like it was nothing!
That would’ve been impressive in and of itself, but the more impressive part? He didn’t stiff-arm one … or two … or three … or even four defenders — he stiff-armed five en route to a touchdown for his team. That kid was determined to score and would NOT be kept out of the end zone, no matter how many tacklers were in his way. In my book, that play totally deserved the No. 1 spot. Even the commentators were impressed. One said he could “watch that play 10 more times” and not tire of it. It was seriously that cool!
And what a tremendous lesson for all of us in the game of life. We’re all going to come up against obstacles that try to get in our way and stop us from reaching the goals God has for us. The worst obstacle of them all, of course, is Satan himself. There will constantly be challenges that get thrown at us to try to deter us and bring us down, but it’s how we respond to those challenges that counts.
If that kid had just let those defenders bring him down, if he hadn’t put in the time to get strong so he could make that play, if he didn’t work on his mental toughness and develop the perseverance to power through those tacklers and keep his feet moving, it would’ve cost his team six points.
In the same way, if we don’t prepare ourselves for facing difficulties and trials, if we just let ourselves get dragged down by every challenge we face, if we don’t build up the endurance to push ahead and keep up our forward momentum in the game of life, it will cost us as well. Potentially, it will cost us eternity.
You have to stay the course and keep fighting — keep fighting for that next yard, that next step. Keep doing the next right thing. Because when you do, before you know it, you’re reaching the end zone of your God-given abilities and goals. Jesus Himself said the victory belongs to those who overcome, and that means you and me, friend!
If we’re willing to put some muscle into building our faith and letting God strengthen us for the tough times, we will become like those mentioned in Joel 2:7 who “charge like warriors” and do not “swerve from their course.” To me, that’s an objective worth chasing.
— Katherine Singer
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