Inspiration Though Injured

In the Christian life, we may face injury or infirmity, insult or inconvenience.  Through all of these,
no matter what the severity, we can exert faith in Almighty God. 1st Peter 4 states:
12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;
13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

We will experience times when things don't go the way we think we should.  We may face injury of the body or spirit, loss of loved ones or loss of property.  In it all, we can trust the hand of God - He will sustain us and He does have a plan: a plan for our good and His glory, as it's been said.  So, in our suffering, we can know that He is producing a result that He has determined, that will help us to grow in Him and even increase our faith.

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The apostle Paul experienced his share of suffering, and there was an apparent physical malady about which he prayed and pleaded. God adjusted his perspective, as we read in 2nd Corinthians 12:
9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

For someone who participates in competitive sports, an injury can be a frustrating, not to mention, painful occurrence.  And, there have been some fairly recent declarations by quarterbacks who are Christians and have faced injury that can inspire us.

Of course, fresh on the minds of Alabama and SEC football fans is what took place in Starkville this past week - the injury to Heisman candidate and record-breaking QB Tua Tagovailoa.  This is a young man who has become known for his faith in Christ and is showing a trust in the Lord even in the midst of his season, and perhaps his career at Alabama, being derailed.

CBN.com reported that: "The 21-year-old tweeted 'Thank you all for the prayers and well wishes! God always has a plan.'"  The article goes on to say:

Tagovailoa is well-known for his strong Christian faith and for wearing a black cross on his face when he plays football.

His Twitter bio says it all: "1 Corinthians 2:9 HIM 13EFORE ME"

That Bible verse from Corinthians says: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."

Tua's family issued a statement of gratitude earlier this week, which said, in part, according to CBN:

We felt the unceasing prayer, and words can't express how overwhelming and uplifting that has been for us. We have total faith in God's plan for Tua, and we know his plan is never wrong. God's grace, mercy, love, and faithfulness in our lives has never been more evident, despite this setback."

Oh, and in an interesting side note, the Sunday before the LSU game, Tua's father was being baptized - at Yellowhammer News, Rick Karle reported that:

Galu Tagovailoa told me that he reaffirmed his faith just a few days ago by taking part in the Church of the Highlands’ “I Have Decided To Follow Jesus” series.

Pastor Chris Hodges welcomed Galu, his wife (Diane) and other family members as Hodges helped make Sunday special for the Tagovailoa family and others by holding baptisms.

And, did you catch this one?

For @PlumleeJohn & @Tuaamann, Faith > Football pic.twitter.com/6A8G15jtzG

— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) November 22, 2019

Meanwhile, another quarterback who has experienced injury this season, former Super Bowl MVP and current Jacksonville Jaguars starter Nick Foles spoke out recently about his faith.  Foles suffered a broken clavicle in Week 1, according to Faithwire, which quoted the veteran:

“Right when I felt this thing break and I was going into the locker room I just realized, ‘God this wasn’t exactly what I was thinking when I came to Jacksonville.'” Foles explained.

“But at the end of the day, I said, ‘God if this is the journey you want me to go on, I’m going to glorify you in every action, good or bad.’ You know, I still can have joy in injury. People hear that and say that’s crazy, but it’s like when you believe in Jesus and you go out there and you play, that changes your heart.”

About winning the Super Bowl and lifting up the Lombardi Trophy, Foles related:

“In that moment, I realized I didn’t need that trophy to find who I was, because I was already in Christ. And that’s my message when I play, same thing happens when I get injured… we tend to this so much about us, as human beings, we tend to make it about us, as athletes, it’s not about us..."

Foles and Tagovailoa can teach us quite a bit about suffering - it will come; we will face injury, perhaps physical, maybe emotional or mental, maybe relational.  But, we can know that God is there to sustain us; He has not forgotten us in our trial, even though it can be frustrating and devastating.

Both QB's talked about God's plan.  That's important to note in the course of our lives.  Some may question God and ask why things didn't go a certain way.  Truth is, the trajectory of the believer's life is determined by the hand of Almighty God.  We can choose to reject His plan, certainly, and face the consequences.  Or, we can place our hand in His and allow Him to walk with us and to do His perfect work in our lives.

The enemy would want to bring despair and cause us to get off track in our walk because of our perceived negative circumstances.  But, God wants us to experience joy, even in our times of suffering.