Trust Your Power

We see a passage of Scripture in 1st Chronicles chapter 16, repeated in the Psalms, that can remind us to trust in God and seek His strength:
10Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!11Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore!12Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth...

So, we can rejoice, giving verbal testimony to what God has done in our lives, and we are called to seek His strength, or His power, as we remember His marvelous works, what He has done, and what He has said!

There is mighty power available to us as believers in Christ - the God of the universe, our Creator and sustainer, is offering you His power so that you may have the strength to stand in the face of temptation and adversity and rely on His hand to hold you up and His hope to give you the proper perspective, so that you might fulfill His call for your life and walk in His joy.

In Colossians 1, we can see a prayer of the apostle Paul for people who have called upon the name of the Lord.   Here's a portion, beginning at verse 10.  He prayed...
10that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;11strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;12giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.

The Internet is abuzz with a new video commercial for Duracell batteries.   It features Derrick Coleman, a backup fullback for the Seattle Seahawks, who will be facing the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game this Sunday.   Who is Derrick Coleman and what does he have to do with batteries?   Well, here's the amazing story, based on a piece on The Christian Post website:

Coleman, you see, has been legally deaf since he was 3. He learned to play football using hearing aids and lip reading as a kid in California. After a stellar high school career, he played college ball at powerhouse UCLA. There were times that he relinquished his hearing aids altogether.

Derrick's coach at UCLA, Rick Neuheisel, told ESPN that it was easy to forget there was even an issue with Coleman's hearing. He said that, "Derrick has overcome his disability in such a way that no one even notices it's a disability," Neuheisel said. "He comes and grabs you on the shoulder to make sure you look at him. He'll tell you what you said when you're on the sideline 35 yards away because he can read lips."

After his career at UCLA, he was not chosen in the 2012 NFL Draft.  He was cut by the Vikings, and then was invited by the Seahawks to be on their practice squad.  Coleman made the team, becoming the first legally deaf offensive player in NFL history.  He's played in 12 games this season, and his brightest moment came a few weeks ago against the New Orleans Saints when he caught a tipped pass from Russell Wilson at the goal line and dove in for his first NFL touchdown.

 A report from Seattle TV station KING5 in December quoted Coleman as saying that his hearing loss is a "gift from God".   But, he has apparently learned to accept it - according to the Post, Coleman told FOX Sports about his hopeful attitude:  "That's just the way I approach my life...Every day I wake up and I get a chance. I always say that God blessed me this morning and I can do what I do. Our time in this world is very limited. It can be gone now or it can be gone later so I take advantage of every opportunity I have whether it's playing football, working or whatever. I'm just a happy guy."  

What an inspiration!  The Duracell ad tells Derrick's story in about a minute and is part of the battery maker's "Trust Your Power" campaign, which was started, according to The Bleacher Report, by 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis, and is intended to help young people around the country realize the power they have to capture even the biggest of dreams. 

Patrick's story is pretty amazing, too - he and his three siblings were raised in a poverty-stricken neighborhood by a single father who struggled with alcohol and drug addictions, and Willis began working at the age of 10 just to help support his family.   He has hosted the Duracell Patrick Willis Football ProCamp, and even spent a day going around San Francisco and assisting citizens with some of their everyday chores—including, but not limited to, dog walking and hauling groceries.   And, how about Patrick's motivation.

Well, you see it in this quote from a CBN.com article.  He says, "...each time I play, I don’t want to go out there and say, tell people, 'I’m playing for the Lord today.' I just want them to see it and know that when I, whether good, or bad, or indifferent, you know I’m playing for the Lord."  

I think these stories can be inspiring to all of us, and it's obvious to us as Christians that we can trust the power that God has made available to us.  There may be physical adversity, as Derrick has experienced, or socio-economic adversity, such as what Patrick grew up in.   Whatever the barriers in life, God has made available to you incredible resources in Jesus Christ.   And, while He has never promised to remove adversity, He can give you the strength to endure.

We recognize that as we activate the power within, that can help us to not allow adversity to prevent us from fulfilling our calling in Christ.   Perhaps you are feeling stifled or stuck, and there is a real temptation to give up in your pursuit of God's will for your life.  Maybe you've relegated yourself to a miserable existence and are finding yourself treading water, about to sink - God can hold you up and raise you up and give you hope.   Derrick Coleman and Patrick Willis certainly have not allowed the challenges of life to hold them back, and for the Christian, we can know that God is with us to strengthen us, to give us hope, and to give us the means to enter into the abundant life He has in store.