Chat with J: 11/29/2020

Hello everyone, I really hope that all of you had the best Thanksgiving possible this last week.  I’m a day late in writing to you all as I had so many thoughts bouncing around my head during the last few days I neglected to take the time to put it down into this little chat.  

For those of you that know me well, you may know that I’m a Portland Trailblazer fan and love to follow them even during the bad years.  1992 lined up real good for me as I graduated high school, enjoyed some musical success and the Blazers made the NBA finals against Michael Jordan and the Bulls.  The Blazers were supposed to take out the Bulls in the finals because they were that good but after that infamous shoulder shrug by Michael Jordan after hitting his 6th three-pointer IN THE FIRST HALF I knew the series was over!! I couldn't believe it, the scouting report suggested that if you let MJ have anything, give him the 3 point shot because that is his weakness.  What nobody understood was that a few years prior to the 92’ finals, MJ understood that to become a great player he would need to do some things during his training.  He knew that his biggest weakness that year was his shooting from long distance and he had to do something about it.  MJ had been known to outwork or out-practice a lot of people and during the 88-89 season he tossed up 1,000 3point shots a day, 7 days a week, and usually after exhaustive workouts and boy did it work out for him.  He quietly went from a career 17% 3-point shooter to averaging 34% in the second half of his career and the Blazers never knew that he had that range and paid for it.  Most of you know the rest of the story regarding Jordan so I will stop now with my sports analogy and write about something else that does not constitute bad basketball thoughts from that Spring time in 92.  

In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 the Apostle Paul is speaking directly to the people of Corinth where he wanted them to understand what he was understanding as a wonderful, freeing, and life-altering approach to letting the power of Christ work in him.  For those that know the story of Paul, this is amazing how it all worked out.   

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I cannot tell you how much this passage speaks to me.  I’m a visual and creative person that sometimes makes sense of things by visualizing something written as a movie that I watch with my imagination and in this case, hearing Paul utter these words is amazing.  I have so many weaknesses in my life that I sometimes feel hopeless in that I can turn things around for the better.  I’m not a scholar nor a very good leader to my family but understanding that these are what I consider great weaknesses I also am starting to understand that they may; in turn, become my greatest strengths.  Let's say I want to be a better _______, I need to turn that weakness over to Christ with a firm understanding that without Him, my efforts are all but lost.  Christ’s power will light a path for you to overcome your weaknesses but you first have to let Him do that.  You have a responsibility to trust Him and follow His guidance.  

Having just written all of that, I’m not saying that by giving it over to Christ you will become the next great 3-point shooter or even the best family leader version you can be.  All you can do is follow the examples that Christ sets for you and practice the playbook that He has written for you, trust that He will bless you and know that He just might lead you to make your weaknesses your new strengths.  Please take the time to study all of 2 Corinthians as it is a wonderful insight into how God works in our lives through Jesus Christ. 

I challenge you; my family, to think on this for the week.  What can you do in your life that you feel is a weakness and turn it into a strength?  It won't be easy but please, give it a shot and maybe help someone else that could benefit from this way of thinking if even for a little bit.  

Don't be afraid of your weaknesses, use them as a way to power your way; through Christ, to them being your strengths.

Take care, everyone, Love y’all.  

J