Michael Phelps is the most decorated athlete in history:
- Five-time Olympian.
- Twenty-seven Olympic medals, twenty-two of them gold.
- Thirty-nine career world records.
- Seven-time World Swimmer of the Year.
Michael Phelps training regimen was amazing:
- He swam over eight miles a day, six or seven times a week. Almost fifty miles per week, no breaks. When asked about Christmas Day or birthdays: “Nope” was the answer. Phelps and his coach, Bob Bowman, didn’t take a day off for five years.
- Phelps usually split his training into two sessions, spending five to six hours in the pool every day. Phelps also did functional training with weights at least three times a week.
For most of us a pool is for pleasure. For a champion swimmer, a pool is a training place for perfection to win.
Life is like that. We either view life as a refuge for our pleasures or a training ground for perfection. Paul seems to have a mindset about life and hardships that were more like a training ground than leisure vacation. The Bring it On mindset: this life is not a relaxing spa but a training center. James had it right.
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience/endurance. But let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (James 1:2-7).
Do you see it? Do you understand what James is saying? He is saying, Bring it On to trials! The Bible is instructing us that we can have joy in trials, tribulations, and trouble, because God is building endurance, perfecting us, and giving us wisdom along the way.
Three reasons God allows trials, troubles, and tribulations:
Reason #1: Trials, troubles, and tribulations build endurance.
Are we joyful about our hard circumstances? No. Are we joyful about trials? No. But, a Bring it On mentality is seeing beyond the current difficulty and realizing God is using it to perfect and develop endurance. It’s seeing past the immediate to the endurance being developed in our lives.
Those who learn the art of endurance are people who have had tremendous difficulties in their lives. It even seems that the greater the obstacles, the stronger the individual. Angela Lee Duckworth, a leading speaker, while a math teacher in San Francisco, discovered through her extensive research on what makes inner city students successful,
“One characteristic emerged as the best predictor of success. It wasn’t social intelligence; it wasn’t good looks, physical health, and it wasn’t IQ. It was grit. Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future day in and day out, not just for the week and not just for the month, but for years. And working hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living your life like a marathon and not a sprint.” (Angela Lee Duckworth)
Instead of oh no… or I can’t believe this… or are you kidding me. No, those don’t help at all; they only intensify our anxiety and worry. Rather learn to say to, Bring it On, and confidence comes. Bring it On means we’re confident in God to navigate us through this hardship. He is building endurance in us. William Barclay once said, “Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but turn to turn it into glory.”
Reason #2: Trials, troubles, and tribulations build character.
Paul said it this way, “We also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character…” (Romans 5:3-4) Do you want to be a man or woman of high character? Then God will put you through trials, troubles, and tribulations.
Character, we know it when we see it. Maybe more importantly, we know it when it is missing. Headlines show us individuals lacking character. Politicians and business leaders make the front page with many counts of bad character. Bad character knows no boundaries. The good news is good character knows no boundaries as well. Good character is exemplified every day and too often goes unnoticed.
What is Godly character?
Godly character is the ability to discern God’s way from the wrong, and to voluntarily surrender one’s own will to do what is right in God’s sight. And with the promised supernatural help, to resist the wrong even under pressure and temptation.
But character is more than visual. Character is engraved within us. The engraving isn’t always planned and clean. The word “character” comes from the Greek kharakter that means engraved mark.
God is using trials in our life to engrave His mark upon us. What kind of mark are you allowing to be engraved on your heart? It’s your choice. Those arrows to our heart are either making a mark of bitterness and unforgiveness or with a Bring it On mentality, it is building endurance and character in your life. Men and women of character have a lot of scars.
Reason #3: Trials, Troubles, and Tribulations Build Wisdom.
It’s in trials and hard times that we cry out for wisdom. In times of trouble, we often don’t know what to do. It’s hard. We are overwhelmed and maybe even ignorant of how to navigate the problem. If we’re smart and we have a Bring it On mentality, we will cry out to God for wisdom.
Bring it On means that we know our hardest times are building single-minded, focused wisdom. It’s knowing that our deepest character lessons are learned through hardship. Good people are good because they learned wisdom through difficulties.
So, don’t quit. In this new year, you will encounter trials, troubles, and tribulations. It’s guaranteed. Why not put on a Bring it On mentality? If you do, your life will be full of joy!
Pastor Steve
