Transformational Thought
I was always big for my age, so excelling in sports often made me the target of some of the older kids on the opposing team. Intimidation is an element of sports, and an occasional fight is part of defining your right to compete or excel in the psychological security battles that masquerade as sports.
In second grade, I got into a fight protecting one of my friends, Jimmy Meehan. He was short. But was he ever fast! Before school started, we were playing hotbox (an old baseball-like game) against some older kids. Jimmy’s speed was giving them fits. They started roughing him up. To their surprise, I came to his rescue. So, we started the school day in the principal’s office. Jimmy never had any problems with those boys again, because they knew that messing with him would mean fighting me.
You know, some days I feel so limited and inept, so clumsy and weak. I’m sure you have days like that, too. When it happens, remember this important fact: We need not be measured by our human limitations. Thankfully, we have a big brother, an advocate, the ultimate protector. Our bodyguard in this spiritual war is so willing and able to step in and lend us His toughness and power. The big question is whether we will accept His offer.
As a kid, Jimmy was free to use his speed and enjoy baseball in competitive games against older kids, even though he was small. He had no fear because I was there to protect him. Satan wants us to think it is all about us—that our safety depends on our individual strength and that nobody will help. Depending on others is very hard, especially for men. Self-sufficiency is what we’ve been brainwashed into and trained to practice. And it seems so reasonable to strive for it. But putting my confidence in me, to meet my own needs, to solve every problem and to soothe myself is a setup for failure and loss.
So today, remember that it’s not about your human limitations, or even about your strength. It’s all about God’s strength. You have so much more than a tough brother in your corner. You have our all-powerful Lord and God. Recall the times when He has protected you from the world or even your own mistakes: speeding, impulse spending, dating and sexual mistakes, words you wish you could take back. When you experience a struggle today, put on the armor. Trust in God’s power and promises. Put your confidence in His track record, not yours. Whether you use the supernatural and Ultimate Bodyguard as your protector or you rely on your limited and flawed self as your protector, it’s your choice, so choose well.
Prayer
Dear God our Father, I am taking baby steps of faith. And based on this genuine faith, I am confident that You will show me what You can do. I want to know the excitement of seeing Your work in me. I am thankful for seeing Your work in this Stepping Stones community of believers. All glory to you, my Lord. Through faith, I receive Your Spirit today and everyday. Your Spirit empowers me to go beyond my human limitations and beyond my physical ability and strength. Without You, I am so much weaker. I pray that I stop measuring my human limitations as I face the challenges and burdens before me. The issue is not my limitations; the focus is Your Strength. I believe that by walking closer to You and using Your strength, I can better understand and accomplish Your purpose. I pray in the name of my Big Protector, Jesus Christ. And all God’s children say AMEN!
The Truth
And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.” Luke 17:5-6
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10