Finding Strength Through Weakness: “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger” (Part 1)

Ever heard the phrase, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger?” Nietzsche and Kelly Clarkson were both onto something, although I’m guessing Nietzsche didn’t expect his philosophy to eventually become a pop song.

In athletics, weakness isn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes the areas where you struggle are exactly where the most growth needs to happen. The key is being honest enough to identify those weaknesses and disciplined enough to work on them instead of hiding them, making excuses for them, or hoping nobody notices.

Every athlete has strengths. Maybe you're explosive, fast, strong, technically sound, a great communicator, or somebody who performs really well under pressure. Strength in sports isn't only physical. It can be physical, technical, tactical, or mental. Some athletes have incredible physical tools. Others see the game extremely well. Some stay composed when everything around them gets chaotic. Great athletes usually have a combination of those things.

But every athlete has weaknesses too.

Maybe your footwork breaks down when you get tired. Maybe your vertical isn't where it needs to be. Maybe you struggle reading the game. Maybe you get inside your own head after making an error. Maybe you don't communicate enough. Maybe you're great when you're winning but completely unravel when things aren't going your way.

You can't improve something you're unwilling to admit needs work.

That's why identifying weaknesses shouldn't automatically feel negative. A weakness gives you information. It shows you where there's room to grow. Once you know where the problem is, you can actually do something about it through intentional training, coaching, repetition, film study, mental training, or whatever that particular area requires.

For Christian athletes, there's another side of weakness that's even more important.

2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV) says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

It's important to understand the context of that verse. Paul isn't talking about sports, and he's not saying every weakness automatically becomes a strength if we work hard enough. Paul had asked God to remove what he called a “thorn” in his flesh, and God didn't remove it. Instead, Paul learned that God's grace was sufficient and that God's power wasn't dependent on Paul's own strength.

That's a pretty important lesson for athletes too.

Sports constantly remind us that we're limited. You can train hard and still get injured. You can prepare well and still lose. You can be incredibly talented and still run into somebody better. You can have a great season and then suddenly find yourself struggling. You can do everything right and still not get the outcome you wanted.

Faith doesn't mean God is going to make you win because you prayed harder than the other team. It doesn't mean every injury will heal exactly when you want it to or every setback is going to end with some perfect comeback story.

It means your weakness doesn't have to separate you from God's strength.

When athletes are exhausted, discouraged, injured, doubting themselves, or dealing with something they can't control, faith gives them somewhere to turn besides themselves. Instead of believing, “I have to be strong enough to handle everything,” there's freedom in recognizing that sometimes you aren't strong enough on your own.

And that's okay.

You can still prepare. You can still work. You can still compete your butt off. But you don't have to believe everything depends entirely on you.

Athletes also aren't supposed to do everything alone. That's where coaches and teammates matter.

I believe one of the biggest indicators of a healthy program is what happens when somebody is struggling. Anybody can be a great teammate when everybody is winning, playing well, and getting along. What happens when somebody loses their starting position? What happens when your teammate makes three errors in a row? What happens when somebody is injured? What happens when there's conflict? What happens when somebody is struggling mentally or having problems outside the gym?

That's when you find out what kind of team you actually have.

Coaches are obviously responsible for teaching the game, correcting technique, developing athletes, creating standards, and preparing the team to compete. But coaching goes beyond X's and O's. Good coaches also teach athletes how to handle adversity, communicate, take accountability, respond to failure, and continue working when things aren't going their way.

Teammates have a responsibility too.

Your job isn't just to worry about your own playing time and performance. Great teammates notice when somebody is struggling. They encourage each other, challenge each other, communicate honestly, and hold each other accountable. In some of my programs, we've called them accountability buddies. It's somebody who knows what you've committed to and isn't afraid to ask whether you're actually doing it.

Accountability isn't always comfortable. Sometimes supporting somebody means encouraging them. Sometimes it means telling them something they don't want to hear.

That's part of being on a team.

A strong locker room gives athletes somewhere to struggle without feeling like they have to hide it. That doesn't mean lowering standards or making excuses for poor effort. It means creating an environment where athletes know they can make a mistake, receive coaching, learn from it, and get back to work without believing one bad moment defines them.

The goal isn't to eliminate every weakness. That's impossible.

The goal is to become aware enough to recognize your weaknesses, humble enough to admit them, disciplined enough to work on what you can change, and grounded enough to accept what you can't control.

• Some weaknesses need training.

• Some need coaching.

• Some need accountability.

• Some need patience.

• Some need prayer.

And sometimes what feels like weakness is exactly what God uses to remind us that we were never supposed to depend completely on our own strength in the first place.

Instead of ending this with a typical conclusion, I want you to talk about these two questions with your team:

How can we create a team environment where athletes feel supported and challenged enough to reach their potential?

How can we become more honest about our weaknesses and actually use them as opportunities to grow?