God's Coaching #350

God's Coaching #350

Like a lot of kids, Jay Fleming loved sports. His favorites were baseball, basketball, and swimming. Nothing particularly unique about that, right? But on December 16, 2010, Jay found out he had won a national home-video contest on ESPN. So why all the attention? Because Jay only has one arm.

Jay, a resident of Hendersonville, Tennessee, was 10 years old when he won the contest. He lost his left arm in a boating accident at age six, but that didn’t stop him from playing sports. Remarkably, Jay helped his youth baseball team win a championship, and the home video that won an ESPN contest showed him winning his 25-meter butterfly heat against two-armed competitors in a 2010 Nashville city swim meet. After national viewers voted Jay’s video as the winner, ESPN called him at his local elementary school for a live interview on SportsCenter. “He never gives up,” Jay’s mother told Nashville’s WSMV-Channel 4. “He is very determined. To see him go out there with these other swimmers who have an advantage, he swims his best, and has won a lot of competitions. I’m just really proud.”

What’s the Score?

Considering his circumstances, it would have been understandable if Jay had avoided sports. But he didn’t use his disability as an excuse. While most of us will never experience anything as difficult as Jay has, we all go through trials in life. As passages like James 1:2-4 and 1 Peter 1:6-7 tell us, trials are meant for our good and God’s glory. That still doesn’t make them easy or enjoyable.

So how do we endure trials? The answer is found in Philippians 4:13: “I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” No matter what challenge you are going through, the strength to persevere and overcome does not originate inside you. By recognizing where your strength comes from and relying on that power, you can overcome any trial. The strength to persevere through difficulties comes from the eternal Son of God who created the world, sacrificed himself for your sins, rose from the dead, and now reigns in heaven with all majesty and glory.

On the Ball

Have you prayed recently about a trial you are going through? Take a moment right now to pray for Christ’s strength, knowing he will be faithful to answer your request.

Coach’s Comment

I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13