My grace is enough for you. - 2 Corinthians 12:9 ICB

You have to be one tough person to guard the net in pro hockey. A hard rubber puck is headed your way at one hundred miles an hour.

Larry Dyck is a good example. He played in the International Hockey League for several seasons. He was tough and determined. And he was an excellent goalie.

Oh, and he was blind in one eye.

How did Larry handle those laser-like shots at the net? “In hockey, the puck comes so fast you don’t have to worry about perception,” he explains. This gutsy goalie suited up for both the Minnesota North Stars and the San Jose Sharks in the NHL.

The apostle Paul was another man who did well despite a serious challenge. Paul had a “thorn in my flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7). While we don’t know what it was, we know it was bothersome. He pleaded with God three times to take it away, but He let it stay.

Why? God told him: “My grace is enough for you. When you are weak, then my power is made perfect in you” (2 Corinthians 12:9 ICB).

Sometimes the things we think are wrong with us—too short, can’t figure out math, too shy—put us where God wants us to be: depending on His power alone.

So keep your eyes open—and be ready at any time to stop some pucks.

If a hockey player were to take a shot from the blue line, and if the puck were to be going ninety mph, the goalie would have four-tenths of a second to react before it reaches the crease.

“Can I say thanks to you, Lord, for helping me when things don’t go my way? I know you love me.”