I found myself in the truck alone making that all too familiar drive from Connersville to Liberty contemplating my recent comments at a basketball game. There are times I may get a little too invested and vocal at my daughter’s basketball games. I continually remind myself that my actions and words are always being watched by someone. I once overheard a mother telling her children before a tee ball game I was coaching to be a testimony and unbeknownst to her, I was personally challenged by her words.
By now you are probably wondering why I was contemplating what I had said during the game. I may have been concerned with both what I said and how I said it. I watched an inbound play unfold and immediately saw my daughter’s head snap back and her ponytail come out. Her hair was pulled by an opposing team member and nothing, no whistle, no warning. I felt my blood start to boil. That is my little girl.
The ball went out of bounds, the crowd was quiet so I took the opportunity to inform the referee to blow the whistle when hair gets pulled. I said it loud and with force. The referee knew exactly where it came from because our eyes locked. I thought it best to quiet down at that point. I am not sure how people would feel seeing their pastor ejected from a basketball game.
I know that I fall short in a lot of areas but this is one particular area that I have become very aware of. I am competitive to a fault. I often reflect back on the things I have done or said in the past and beat myself up. This time I was telling God, “I know I need to be more forgiving and less vocal, but that is my little girl.” I went on to acknowledge and repent of my weakness.
God has a way of showing His strength in my weakness. I won’t romanticize what happened. I did not hear an audible voice, but I did hear the still small voice of God in that truck. He said, “Look how you reacted when someone pulled your daughters hair and the referee did not call a foul. That should give you a deeper understanding of my love for you. My Son’s hair was pulled too.”
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:10
I cannot imagine the strength of God’s love. I cannot imagine the sacrifice necessary because of my weaknesses. I am not sure what is more powerful; the fact that God continues to love us in our weaknesses or that God reveals the depth of His love even in our weaknesses. God’s strength is such that He can take our gaffs and use them for His glory.
The next time you find yourself coming to grips with your own weakness, remember Paul’s words to the Corinthians about his weakness. He wrote, “Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.’” (2 Cor. 12:8,9 NKJV).
