One More Time

“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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

Around twenty years ago, I was living out a karate kid's dream. I had made it to a national tournament in Washington, D.C., with friends. We were representing Team Lightning from a local taekwondo school. (Yes, it was as cool as you are thinking it was.) There were several different categories of competition based on various disciplines. There were forms—a rhythmic display of power and control showcasing a set of moves ranging in complexity. Weapons were similar to forms but with different weapons (bo staffs, nunchucks, and kamas) to show control, precision, and discipline. Lastly, my favorite, sparring. This was where theories became reality! Sparring was just as you would imagine it—fighting to see who rose to the top and became champion.

For this particular tournament, I had come in very confident because of my resume leading up to it. At home, I had many trophies and medals that proved to me and others my ability to fight. I stepped into the squared arena, surrounded by my mom, friends, and peers, to look my opponent in the eye in anticipation of the ref releasing us to do what we both wanted to do—fight.

The ref dropped his hand and yelled, “Fight!” In that same moment, we both leaped forward and began to exchange blows. He threw some solid punches, and I returned with some clean kicks. After each successful hit, we were repositioned, granted the appropriate points, and then released to spar some more. As the final round of our fight began, I read the positioning of my opponent perfectly. As he began to lean forward, I was able to adjust my stance, lean back on my left leg, and extend a strong, high sidekick that connected perfectly with his chest. My friends and family went crazy, and I began to celebrate, only to be interrupted by the ref’s whistle and discover that they called my match-winning kick illegal, resulting in a disqualification—taking me out of the tournament. Pure celebration turned into sheer dread. Confused, I looked to my team on the side of the arena, trying to find my coach and understand what had happened. As you can imagine, the parents, coaches, and friends all expressed their extreme dissatisfaction with the call—but to no avail. The ruling remained. I was disqualified. I lost the fight and couldn’t compete in the rest of the tournament.

I was devastated. I felt defeated. I wanted to quit. It was in this place that I learned one of the greatest lessons of life: no matter how defeated we feel, we have to get up one more time.

There are two passages of Scripture that stand out to me. One is when the Apostle Paul is dealing with what he described as a thorn in his flesh. It was aggravating, bothersome, and something he wanted gone. Yet, when he talked to God about it, the response he received was, “My grace is sufficient for you.” Meaning, to trust in Him to help navigate through the pain. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Secondly, in Romans 5:20, Paul writes: “God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant.”

You may feel defeated, but your feelings aren’t your facts. In your weakness, His strength is made perfect. You may feel knocked down, but it’s time to get back up! He is faithful to help you through each season—including failure!

If there’s anything I could encourage you with today, it would simply be this: It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve been knocked down—it’s how many times you get back up! And you only need to get up one more time.

So, dust yourself off. Pick your head up. Trust that His grace is enough for you. Lean into Jesus during those hardest places of life. The best is yet to come because He is still on His throne!

So, let’s get up.

One more time.