Game On!

Have you ever felt unqualified to a task or role you were asked to fulfill? If you have you know the feeling of having knots in your stomach in the uncertainty of your abilities, the questions of inadequacy, and the feeling of impending failure. One of those moments for me was way back to my high school years in Rhame, ND during our regional basketball tournament.

As a Sophomore I played sporadically on the varsity team, but due to injuries I was called upon to start in the final tournament of the season. In our pre-game huddle our coach gave us our opening play for tip-off. I would be the one at center court to jump against their tallest player. We were undersized at each position, and they had the biggest most dominant center in our region. The full gymnasium rocked with anticipation of the game, the band amped up the energy level with, “We Will Rock You”, and “We Got the Beat”, the school teams and their fans sat displaying their school colors in various sections. The announcer introduced the teams, “The scrappy Rhame Pirates vs Yourrrrrrrrr Bowman Bulldogs!” The home-crowd Bulldogs erupted. As we came out onto center court jostling for position, I stepped into the center circle and faced my opponent for tip-off. He loomed above me like Goliath. I suddenly felt the feeling of dread and inadequacy as I stood there toe-to-toe with a big, 6ft-8in, teenager, especially when you are the shortest guy not only on the court but also in the stands. You could hear the snickers and laughter filter through the crowd.

In my study of the Judges of Israel there was on man called to save his fellow Israelites from the oppression of the Midianites. As he is visited by the Angel of the Lord and given this task and role to lead, he replies,

“O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” – Judges 6:15

At the Angel of the Lord’s calling to lead, this farmer must have felt that feeling of dread from inadequacy and uncertainty. Yet, this unlikely farmer was the man to lead the Israelites into a great military victory against their oppressors and 40 years of peace while he lived. His name was Gideon.

When you are given a task or role and those thoughts and feelings of inadequacy rise within the pit of your stomach, remember if God has called you to it, He will sustain you in your weakness with a promise like the one given to Gideon.

“And the Lord said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man”… “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.” –Judges 6:15, 23.

As the whistle blew and the ref tossed the ball straight up into the air, my opponent with outstretch fingers tipped the ball at its apex well over 10ft. I did not even jump. Instead I watched where he was tipping the ball and I darted in that direction. As other players scrambled for it, I zipped between them (being smaller and quicker) and picked up the loose ball, passed it to my teammate streaking toward our basket, and he scored on a breakaway layup. Our bench and fans erupted in cheers as the home-crowd was stunned to silence in the first 5 seconds of the game. Suddenly my feeling of dread and inadequacy was replaced with exhilaration. Game on!