My freshman year of high school I was like most any other freshman football player – weak, inexperienced, and fresh meat for the upper classmen on the practice field. That proved to be true practically every day during time set aside for team scrimmage. You see, during this time each day the coaches would field the first-team offense against a scout team defense (primarily comprised of freshman) to practice the plays for the coming week against our opponent’s defensive scheme.
The thing about this time each afternoon was my particular assignment. Regardless of my best efforts to the contrary the coaches would always insist that I was lined up on the scout team across from Will Ofenheusle. That might not mean anything to you, but Will was a senior, 6’8”, 300 lbs., three year starter who was a highly ranked recruit in the nation and already committed to play for the University of Tennessee. Every time the ball was snapped Will, to put it lightly, pummeled me. I remember very few times that I did not hit the ground. Play after play, week after week, for close to four months – this was what I had to look forward to every day.
While I loved playing football, I dreaded this part of practice every day because all I could envision was the pain that was soon to come. I thought the coaches were sadistic, wanting nothing more than to torture me. However, over the next few years (and since time) I think I’ve come to understand their reasoning. Objectively speaking, I was soft my freshman year. I had decent size and reasonable potential but was not as aggressive as I needed to be. By pitting me against one of the best in the nation they intended to help me learn. By making me go through the worst, they wanted me to become my best.
That’s how life works. Whether it is in athletics, in our families, in our careers, in our relationships, in our congregations, or in our individual Christian lives the general principle rings true – you have to go through the worst to become your best. In a very broad sense that is the point James was making in James 1:2-3 – “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.” Sure, James is specifically talking about the growth that enduring temptation can bring in our lives; but the general point seems to be that any trial in life, when handled properly can help us to mature in Christ and become the best people we can possibly be. Why?
- Enduring the worst life has to offer helps us remember that we as individual humans are powerless and need to admit our total reliance on God (Jeremiah 10:23-24).
- The trials that men can impose on our lives helps us to put our relationships in perspective and trust God more (1 Corinthians 10:13; Hebrews 13:5).
- Experiencing the pains of this life remind us that we can look forward to more than this life and that eternity will be much sweeter in the presence of the Father (John 14:1-6).
- As with any life experience, facing the temptations of this world helps us to grow in our ability to face those circumstances with strength rather than weakness (James 1:2-3).
So while it is not necessarily the case that we should be going out and looking for difficulties to come our way it should not necessarily be the case that we should run away from them either. Lives spent with no challenges only serve to develop us into people with a very shallow faith. When faced with a challenge, at times we need to, figuratively speaking, look the devil in the eye and dare him to give us the best he’s got. For it is in those times that we have to go through the worst that we experience more that helps us to become our best.
-Andy Brewer
Great post Andy! This made me think about 2 Tim 3:12 – where it says that all that live Godly in Christ will suffer persecution. I think we have to ask ourselves – if we haven’t had to “look the Devil in the eye” – then what are we doing? You don’t get stronger by lifting air – you had to lift weights. You don’t run faster and further by sitting on the couch – you have to get out and run. We need to take our Christianity out of the Church building and share it with the world. It’s only then that we will be able to “look the Devil in the eye” and show him who is really going to be victorious.