Will You Play Hurt?

• By candidasullivan
• April 15, 2025
• No Comments

Will you play hurt?

I listened to a podcast in which they discussed how athletes sometimes still play even though they are injured, especially if it is a big game. For some reason, the concept stuck with me. 

Grit is being able to do what we need to do despite how we feel. 

As I think back over my life, I’ve always had to show up and work with pain. I went through a long time when I cried on the way to work and on the way home. Yes, I could have quit. And for almost a year, I didn’t work. But the mental pain was worse for me than the physical. 

During that time, all I had to do each day was take my kids to school, and I struggled to get out of bed long enough to do that. After I dropped them off, I returned home, climbed into bed, and stayed there for the rest of the day. I read books, slept, and felt sorry for myself. It was horrible. 

Deciding to get out of bed and fight for the quality of my life was one of the greatest decisions I have made. Making a little progress each day was what my soul needed. It knocked the enemy out of my way and disputed so many of his lies. 

God showed me how to take the scripture in Philippians 4:13 and put it into action. When I believed that I COULD DO IT through the help of God, I tried harder and stopped allowing quitting to be one of my options. I used my tears and prayers as a plea to keep going instead of defeat. 

Philippians 4:13 KJV

13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

God showed up with me time after time. That’s the wonderful thing about God. If we do our part, He will do His part. When we stop telling the Lord we can’t do things and instead ask for the strength to do them, things change. 

I wrote every book in pain. I did hundreds of school visit presentations in pain. And God has not wasted one ounce of my pain. He has shown me how to use it for good. 

Romans 8:28 KJV

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Sweet friends, the enemy will make sure we never feel like it. He will throw continuous obstacles in our way. But God will show us how to take it all and use it beautifully to help others and ourselves. We must trust Him and believe He can make a way for us. 

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