Too Much To Handle!

This guy was really big! He was skating around the back of their net with his head down when I decided to hit him! Gearing up, I took a good run and put everything I had into this mano-a-mano open ice demolition!

Understand that I was young, bulletproof, 6 feet tall, 175 lbs, and had a pretty good record of coming out on top in these kind of showdowns (I always gravitated to the grittier side of hockey!).

Anyways, he never looked up once. Just kept coming . . .

I lined him up and threw a thunderous check that would have flattened a T-Rex! Only problem was, this guy was twice the size of a T-Rex!

I've never bounced back and hit the ice faster than that day! He kept going as I dragged my wounded and winded body back to the bench with the painful realization that I'd taken on more than I could handle!

Back when I first started out as a believer, I thought that I could live for Jesus with my own spiritual strength and resolve. I would get into situations I had no business being in, believing the self-exalting fabrication that I was strong enough to handle peer pressure just with the incredible amount of spiritual stamina, "done-deal" decision making, dedication and determination that I thought I had in me!

Not, not, not!

Without accessing strength & direction from God, I'd end up flat on my back almost every time! I needed God's strength-not my own!

How do we tap into God's strength? I found three ways that changed things for me.

1.Getting to Know God. The main way is by reading His Word & finding out what He's like, how He works and how to live for Him.

2.Praying. The more we develop our prayer life, the more we're ready to face life's challenges!

3.Getting to Know His People. The more time we spend with other believers, the more that will become our peer group, and the less time we will be spending in situations we don't have the strength to handle.

HAGD!