ONE: FCA Reading Plan For CompetitorsSample

I Can’t

By Amanda Tewksbury

READY: 

“He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name.” – Acts 10:43

SET:

I’ve noticed that for athletes there is a very common belief known as “I can't.” Even little things like trying a new ball-handling drill. If the athlete has experienced failure with a similar drill or with that hand, he or she often responds with the classic, “I can’t,” and stops pushing toward improvement.  

The irony of this negative phrase is that God embraces our brokenness in failures because of our resulting humility. Read the Bible long enough and you’ll see there are many examples of tremendous leaders who followed God and brought others to Him who also failed often.

Take Peter, for example, who was one of Jesus’ disciples. Peter told Jesus that he would never deny Him, yet he did so in Jesus' darkest hour (three times, just as Jesus predicted). There’s also the time he fell asleep the night of Jesus’ arrest when Jesus asked him to pray. But Peter didn't wallow in the “I can’t” for long after that. He ended up becoming one of the forerunners of the early Church and did incredible things for God and people. The humility he had from his failures allowed him to yearn for and receive Christ's love and forgiveness and to say, “I can.”

As athletes and coaches both in and out of competition, a wonderful motivation, then, for us to lead and love comes from the love and forgiveness we continually receive from God. Our failures can actually become the motivation for our success in sport sand as followers of Christ!

GO:

1. What “I can’t” is hindering you from improvement in sports?

2. What “I can’t” from your past failures do you need to receive forgiveness for to allow you to move forward in following Christ?

WORKOUT:

Acts 10:34-43 

Matthew 26:31-74

OVERTIME:

“God, please give me the faith to receive Your love and forgiveness and to keep pressing on. In Jesus’ name, amen.”