“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” - 2 Corinthians 12:9b
A few years back my husband and I studied Judges with a small group at our church and I was blown away by the story of Gideon. If you wish to read the full account check out Judges 6–8. Ever since we studied that section of Scripture I have longed to see the power of God that Gideon witnessed.
Gideon Summary - a.k.a long story short
Israel was doing evil in the eyes of the Lord, so God gave them into the hands of the Midians. Then the Israelites did what they always did when things got hard, they cried out to the Lord. So the Lord showed mercy and called on Gideon to rescue His people.
As Gideon traveled with his army to go fight against the Midianites the Lord told him there were too many people. So after God eliminated people a few times, only 300 men were left to fight. Gideon and his army defeated their enemy by breaking pots, blowing trumpets, and shouting. Seriously…they did! It doesn’t make any sense that 300 men were able to defeat an entire army without drawing a single weapon, but that’s how we know God is the reason why they won.
I have been selfishly trying to create opportunities for God to move in my life the same way he moved in Gideon’s. I’ve longed to see His power manifest in such an incredible way. Recently, God revealed that He has already shown that kind of power in my life.
Weakness made strong
My parents longed for my brother, sister and I to be athletes. While I preferred artistic things, I loved to pitch a softball. My parents took me to pitching lessons every winter, and I would spend hours in the gym with my dad mastering my control. After all that, I received a scholarship to a Division II University in Minnesota to play softball.
My freshman year I broke nearly every single season school record and was named conference pitcher of the year. My sophomore year I broke nearly every career school record and again was named conference pitcher of the year. My junior year I was named conference pitcher of the year for the third year in a row. I was good at pitching, and I knew it. I just didn’t realize how much God was doing.
During the summer before my senior year I was in a horrific car accident. I wasn’t wearing a seatbelt because I couldn’t find one, and so I was thrown from the vehicle. My best friend sitting next to me passed away that day. I ended up with a broken right hip, broken right thumb, several broken ribs, torn mcl in my left knee, fractured kidney, shatter tailbone, fractured pelvis and sacrum, and maybe a few more I’m forgetting. Basically, I was broken.
Our accident was July 27 and I was on the mound for our opening game February 21. I was dealing with grief, fear, and pain the entire season. I knew I wasn’t as strong as I had been. My pitching form felt foreign because I wasn’t able to move or bend like I did before the accident. But, I was named pitcher of the year for a fourth year and my stats look identical to any other season. It doesn’t make sense that a pitcher who is completely broken, competes at the same level they did when they were healthy. That is how I know God is the sole source of my success on the field. God graciously let me be in the spotlight, but He deserves all the glory.