A Rock Man and a Rock Band - By Adam Paul

Have you ever struggled with confidence? I mean really struggled? Felt like you weren’t good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, brave enough, strong enough? If so, you’re far from alone. I’ve been there too.

In fact, I was there recently. Felt like no matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried, I was letting people down. During this time, God brought encouragement to me from a couple of unexpected places. A rock man and a rock band.

The rock man Eijiro Kirishima, aka Red Riot, from My Hero Academia. Kirishima feels he has a super lame quirk. He could harden his body. He then had a chance to step up and save some of his classmates…and he blew it. In the aftermath, he felt his resolve break. Then, he rewatches an old clip from one of his heroes that inspires him to keep fighting. So what if his power was lame? He would make it less lame through hard work. So what if he froze one time? He would fight to never freeze again. Despite continuing to feel inadequate, and constantly comparing himself to others (comparison kills!) he Just. Keeps. Fighting. Then comes a pivotal moment where that resolve proves so potent that a powerful villain gives up the fight out of sheer respect for his honour and strength of character.

The rock band is Skillet. YouTube fed me this video recently: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0ZHedQc0Fs. In it Jen, the drummer from Skillet, describes her struggle with anxiety. After struggling for years, she has an anxiety attack on stage. After, she asked one of her bandmates, Korey, “What if this never goes away?” Korey responds: “Then every day, with every breath in your lungs, you just keep fighting.” Simple. Powerful.

And here’s the thing: we’re never fighting alone. Romans 8 tells us that, if we know and trust in Jesus, we are more than conquerors because of the love of God, and earlier in the passage notes that the very same Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is in us. Read that again. The same Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is IN US. That’s real power! No matter how much you feel like you’re not enough, or you’re letting people down. Whether it’s true or (more likely) not, you have a power and a love at work inside of you that literally raised Jesus Christ from the dead. And once that love and that power is in us, there is nothing that can separate us from it!

Level Up Challenge: If you know Jesus, then when you wake up tomorrow morning just take a minute to reread Romans 8 and remind yourself of who you are in light of who Jesus is, and the power that you have in you. If you don’t know Jesus, he really wants you to! He knows you already. Reach out to us, shoot Graphic Word a DM. We’ll help introduce you so that you too can become more than a conqueror!

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