One thing that really gets my goat is a trite word spoken when I’m down and out.  We’ve all had it happen.  We hear it all the time.  Clichés.  Words that don’t help.  Phrases that roll off the tongue with ease, doing nothing for the hearer.  When I’m down, I don’t want or need someone casually throwing me a lifeline that has no merit.  I need real help.  I need someone to jump in the trench with me.  Hurt with me.  A clutch player with skills to make something happen. 

 

After all, when we’re in that vulnerable position of discouragement, do trite words spoken ever lift us?

 

Sometimes they even do the opposite.

 

Today, I want to propose a game changer in your life.

 

If you follow my page, you may have seen a quote I posted earlier this week: “We 100% have the chance today to change tomorrow.”  Some may say this also sounds cliché, not really helping when we’re in that low point of despair.  But is the phrase true?  Absolutely.  We really do have 100% complete control of how we address tomorrow.  We have a choice.  We can do absolutely nothing with our situation, or we can take even the smallest step toward a better future.  I hope the quote grabbed your attention.  Because we can change.  I’ve seen too many examples in my life.  Change is possible.  You can’t convince me otherwise.

 

But how do we get the strength to change?

 

Aha!  Gotcha.  You probably already thought it.  If you’ve been around a church for any length of time, you’ve heard it many times and you already know what I’m going to say.  Most Christians immediately run to the famous verse of Philippians 4:13, the anchor we toss in the direction of those struggling.  It’s a lifeline, isn’t it?

 

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

 

We see someone hurting, weary, struggling, and we throw out the verse like gold dust leaving our tongue.  It actually is, but to the hurting soul who is looking for real relief, it might seem like another cliché or trite word stacked on the top of a large pile of “Thanks, but I don’t need that.”

 

Yet I see that Christ really does give us the strength to do all things.

 

My wife and I just attended a Family Life Weekend to Remember conference.  There were many in attendance whose marriages seemed hopeless, and they were ready to give up.  Down and out, many were given tools to help.  Tools to change.  Hope for a better future.  And guess what?  The single greatest piece to their puzzle was the strength and centering that Christ provides.  Many marriages were helped and healed last weekend.

 

But what about when things don’t go like we hope or plan?

Does God give us strength then?

 

I think I need to pass the microphone to someone else.  I haven’t seen such a good example in quite a while.

 

Many of us watched Super Bowl LVII.  It was a great game.  My family and I were totally into the intensity of such a close contest.  I was cheering particularly hard this year for one big reason.  There was so many Christians who were getting the opportunity to share their faith. 

 

If you watched the media, players from both teams voiced their faith.  A coach.  Even a mascot (look the Chiefs mascot’s story up.  Totally inspiring).  One after another, Christians were coming out of the woodwork before and after the big game.  But one interview really stuck out to me.  You can catch the full story at Sportsspectrum.com, where Harrison Butker shares a truly eye-opening point of view, after recovering from an injury earlier this season.

 

Because we all think that our faith is automatic, right?

 

If we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, shouldn’t every field goal go in?

 

What about when they don’t?

 

I was amazed to read such a mature application of faith in Butker’s real world and profession. 

 

“[God] is the most important thing,” Butker told Sports Spectrum. “If I didn’t have faith in God, I don’t think I’d be the father I am, the husband I am, the kicker I am. That kind of sets the tone for everything else and everything falls under that, but that gives me the strength to go do everything I need to do” (Mercer).

 

“I may have fears about it — I might have pressure — but I know I’m a child of God and He’s gonna protect me. And maybe that protection comes with some suffering, but that’s what’s best for me and I gotta accept that suffering and grow as best I can with that” (Mercer).

 

“… I always pray for God’s will to be done, so whether that’s a make or a miss, if I’m doing my absolute best to maximize the talents that He gave me, if it doesn’t go in I’m gonna keep the process and keep going as much as I can until I’m not kicking footballs anymore” (Mercer).

 

“You miss some kicks and you realize, ‘OK, my identity can’t be all as a football player.’ So I grew a lot in my prayer life knowing that I’m nothing without Him and I gotta lean on Him, and if He wants to take anything away from me, He can. And if He wants to add anything, He can. It’s all up to Him” (Mercer).

 

 

Wow.

 

Maybe we have it all wrong.

 

Maybe instead of flippantly thinking that our faith in Christ will enable us to do the impossible, we should realize that it enables us to do what is needed.

 

Maybe doing all things through Christ who strengthens me isn’t what we think.

 

Maybe it’s not kicking a Superbowl field goal when all eyes are watching.

Let’s be real, I’ll never have that opportunity and you probably won’t either.

But maybe, just maybe, it is something more

 

What if “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” means being able to handle missing the field goal?Butker missed one in Superbowl LVII, didn’t he?

What if it means surviving the loss of a loved one?  What if it means recovering from the addiction that destroyed your life and hurt those around you?

 

What if the real strength isn’t needed to kick the ball, but face the outcome of what happens when it crosses the uprights? 

 

Isn’t that what Butker did?

 

I’ll admit it.  I was crazy nervous.  I watched.  I sat on the proverbial edge of my seat.  He’s gonna get another chance? You mean they’re gonna trust the last play of the game to a guy who already missed?

 

If you didn’t watch the Superbowl, trust me, the pain was real.

 

But God gives us the strength to do what we need to do.  And we “can do all things through Christ who strengthens [us].”  We can get up.  We can walk out on the field again.  We can face the consequences of our past and do something positive with it.  We don’t need to treat things like it’s a trite word spoken or a cliché. 

 

Because the Word of God is truth.

 

I challenge you today.  You 100% have the chance today to change tomorrow.  And that might mean facing something hard.  You can face that lost job.  You can recover from a failed relationship.  You can trust God that He will see you through the pain of surviving the death of a loved one.  You can dust yourself off, confess an old sin, be 100% forgiven, and move forward in a new life.

 

You can do it.  Because Christ gives you the strength.

But don’t ask me.

 

Just ask Harrison Butker.

 

 

 

By Chuck Carr.

 

Read Harrison Butker’s interview here.

To read more inspiring sports stories about Christian athletes, visit Sport Spectrum here.

To read more about Family Life and the Weekend to Remember Marriage Conference click here.

 

Reference entry

Mercer, Kevin.  Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker ahead of Super Bowl: 'I always pray for God's will to be done'.  Sportspectrum, 2023, https://sportsspectrum.com/sport/football/2023/02/09/chiefs-harrison-butker-super-bowl-pray-gods-will/