*Today’s devotional is written by Luke Heaton, UNPACKIN’ it’s Social Media Director and Podcast Co-Host.
It’s no secret that injuries have a tremendous impact on the outcome of sporting events. This year’s NBA Playoffs were proof of that fact, if ever in doubt.
Key players, including Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and Anthony Davis all missed games, impacting their team’s ability to win.
When a team loses largely due to injuries, it makes you wonder what the outcome would have been if player health wasn’t an issue. No team relates to this more than the Brooklyn Nets.
Brooklyn, the clear favorite to raise the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, was eliminated by the eventual champion, Milwaukee Bucks when two of their three stars were hit by the injury bug.
Kyrie Irving’s ankle injury and James Harden’s nagging hamstring left Kevin Durant as the only healthy member of the feared Brooklyn Big-3 to carry the load.
In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, James Harden was asked about his expectations for next season. He confidently remarked, “At full strength, nobody can beat us. I’m just going to leave it at that.”
James Harden’s confidence mirrors what many fans are already thinking. The Brooklyn roster is certainly talented enough, but they just need to be at full strength to take advantage of that talent.
This idea of operating at full strength isn’t just limited to basketball, or even sports, for that matter. As followers of Jesus, what does it mean to operate at full strength in a world that features overwhelming amounts of insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities?
The answer to this question is a paradox, as are numerous truths we read in Scripture. In contrast to sports teams, we are actually at full strength when we are weak.
In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, God says to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”
Paul then writes, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Dr. Thomas L. Constable offers helpful words to better understand these verses: “Our success does not depend on our natural abilities, but on God’s power working in and through us. Human weakness can be a profound blessing if it results in our depending more on God and less on self.”
Paul doesn’t delight in the weaknesses themselves, but rather the grace that was afforded him by God because of his weaknesses. Paul affirms that we are stronger when we are weak because we realize we must rely on the grace of God to provide for our needs and empower us to be faithful.
So as we go about our lives, let’s value and boast in God’s grace as superior to our own abilities. Let’s celebrate that when we are weak, we are at full strength because of God’s grace.
I’m Luke Heaton and you can UNPACK that!
Prayer: God, I praise You and thank you for Your grace. You do not expect me to be faithful and overcome the difficulties of this life on my own. You empower me by Your grace. Help me to depend on You more as I realize that the weakness of my own abilities results in strength as I depend on You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Discussion Questions for PACKS:
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In what situations are you tempted to rely on your own strength instead of God’s grace?
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Has there been a time you noticed God’s grace move in your life when your own ability wasn’t strong enough?
