"He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. He counts the stars and calls them all by name. How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension!" (Psalm 147:3-5)

Pain. Suffering. Agony. Torture. Discomfort. Soreness. Achiness. Burning. Suffering. Cramping. Misery. Strain. Twinge. Pang. Stitch. Anguish. We have all sorts of pain – from physical to emotional to spiritual pain. It can be stabbing, chronic, dull, or sharp. American psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed that human beings have a hierarchy of needs, the first of which is the need to reduce physical discomfort. Pain.

Since the age of twelve, I've been heavily involved with the sport of wrestling, and I know that it is a tough sport. Wrestlers take pride in the toughness that it teaches. The first wrestling t-shirt I ever got from a tournament was screen-printed with the phrase, "Pain is temporary, pride is forever." I also had a poster hanging on my wall that said, "Wimps need not apply."

I've come to learn that no single sport teaches toughness better than another. As coaches, we all strive to instill toughness and resilience in our athletes. We share a common goal.

As the scripture says, we are healed by God's loving touch. This means that the pain we endure is necessary and only temporary. We learn to avoid doing certain things as children because of the lessons taught by pain. Without pain, we'd have no survival mechanism. One of my favorite country-western songs is "It's Getting Better All the Time," by Brooks and Dunn. A lyric from this song is, "God won't make a mountain I can't climb." I love this mindset – in our spiritual educations, we learn that God will not move the mountains before us; He gives us the strength needed to climb them.

In 1989, I was struck by a short scene from the film Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. In this scene, Captain Kirk has been given the choice to be healed of his psychological, emotional, and spiritual pain. He responds to this apparent panacea by saying, "Bones, you're a doctor. You know that pain and guilt can't be taken away with a wave of a magic wand. They're the things we carry with us, the things that make us who we are. If we lose them, we lose ourselves. I don't want my pain taken away. I need my pain!"

What better way to teach youngsters how to embrace the mindset that pain is a vital part of becoming stronger Christians than through the avenue of sports? No matter the sport you coach, seek to continue instilling toughness in your athletes. Every opportunity you get, find the silver lining that accompanies pain. A close loss, an upset in the playoffs, an injury, or a decrease in playing time. Help your athletes gain strength from the pain they endure in life.

God wants us all to endure and overcome—to reach the peaks of the mountains in life. He bandages the wounds we receive every day, and that strength is meant to help us surmount any challenges in our way. As coaches, we can help our athletes discover this truth and empower them to be champions in life.

A common misconception is that after a bone has been broken, it is even stronger than before. This is somewhat true, but let's go with this idea. Physiologically, there is a period of time in the healing process when the site of the break is even stronger than before due to the buildup of calcium. This is a mindset that our athletes can benefit from adopting. Our pain can truly make us stronger.

Moment of Kaizen:

• What do you do specifically when one of your athletes is hurt (i.e., injured, broken mentally, suffering from burn-out)?
• What anecdotes from your own life can you share with your athletes to illustrate how pain can make you stronger?
• How can you modify your program philosophy to promote this sort of resilience and strength?

Related Passage: “For though He wounds, He also bandages. He strikes, but His hands also heal.” (Job 5:18)

Serve as the hand of God by helping your athletes find strength in their pain. Be a part of the healing process for them. While the result may not be a championship in the sport, in the greater scheme of things, you will help them become champions in life and in Christ.

August 8, 2021

This article is a part of a series of Coaches Devotionals that I will be writing over the course of the next year. Please click here if you would like to receive email notifications when a new devotional is published.