Invictus: Latin for Unconquered

Watching the Invictus Games I wonder why some people are able to withstand great hardship and get back up? What is it that gives them extraordinary strength and moxie?

In college I visited a church on vacation to find out that there would be a piano concert. What I didn't know is that the musician was blind. At the end of the service he turned to face the audience. He challenged me when he stated that he was handicapped and still doing what God created him to do, then he asked, "What is your excuse?"

I had to ask myself:

What emotional handicap was I hiding behind? What excuse was I using to avoid going outside my comfort zone? What was I missing out on because I was afraid? What would it take for me to get going on the Grand Adventure God had planned for me?

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 The Message

Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it.

Three times I did that, and then he told me,

My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.

Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.

The Invictus athletes didn't take the easy way out when tragedy hit, they they just figured out a way to keep going! I don't really know what drives them on an individual basis but do know they all have an intense will to live! Today and for the rest of my life I want to be INVICTUS in all that I encounter! I am not alone and the strength that I rely on comes from my BIG God! The Best is Yet to Come!

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