Every four years during the Summer Olympic Games, gymnastics has always been my favorite sport to watch. I love it because it requires physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. However, when I was in primary school, gymnastics was my worst nightmare. In my gymnastics class, tumbling, high bar, and vault were compulsory events. Every time I prepared for a vault, I felt like it was a real horse standing in front of me, staring at me, and making me fearful. Let me take you back a few years and tell you my story.
It happened in my 3rd grade gym class when my teacher said, “In this class, we will begin to practice vaults, and I will show you how to do it.” He asked one student to bend down and pretend that he was a horse, and then we were to run fast and place our hands on his back and jump over the “horse”. This was much different from the vault I watched on TV. In the Olympics, an athlete would sprint down the track, jump onto a springboard, place their hands on the vaulting horse, twist and turn while in the air, and then land on the mat, feet first. It looked difficult, and terrifying.
I was shocked about having to do this compulsory event in my gym class. Though the vaults shown on TV were complex and difficult, the vaulting horses were made from wood, not real persons. I was a little overweight at the time, and I worried that the student who acted as the horse would not be able to hold me up when I jumped with my hands on his back. Every time I ran down the track for the jump, I would stop right in front of the horse, losing all of the speed I needed to make the jump. My “horse” stood up and said to me, “Come on, you can make it.” However, I said, “No, I’m too heavy, and I will knock you over.” He replied, “You are wrong. I have the strength to support you, so don’t worry.” Even so, I could not do it during that class.
When I went back home, I felt depressed and lost my appetite. Noticing that I used my chopsticks to move my food from one part of my plate to another without taking one bite, my father asked me if I had a problem. I told him about the difficult situation in my gym class, and he said, “Why did you think you can’t make it without trying? You simply lacked confidence in yourself and in your classmate.” Suddenly, I had no words to respond. Yes, I had never thought that I could make the jump, and that my partner could support me. My father said, “From now on, let’s begin to practice, and we will use our kitchen stool as your horse.”
Every day after school, I started to jump over the stool with my father’s help. He told me the essential elements of the action, showed me the procedure, and encouraged me to jump. I tried to run fast, bracing my hands upon the stool and jumping over it, and landing on both feet. I fell many times in the beginning and could never seem to do it correctly. Then my father acted as the horse and he told me that he could hold me. I used the skill learning from the stool jump and then jumped over my father. He said, “You see, now you can make it when the horse is not just a stool, but also a person. And you should also believe your classmates have the same strength as I do.” During gym class the next day, I took a deep breath, ran full speed, braced my hands upon the horse, and landed perfectly on my feet. I made it!
Though the vault was just one of the difficulties I have overcome in my life, it is always fresh in my mind. I always remember my father’s words when I doubted my ability to finish a new work or a complex project. After proper study and practice, I should always have the confidence that I can do anything, and at the same time, learn to trust my friends that they will support me in my efforts.
Additional Comments – We’ve all lacked confidence at one time or another in our lives. I could see it in the lives of my students during the beginning of the semester as they knew that at the end of the semester they would need to give a presentation of their thesis project to the rest of their classmates — in English! But, after much practice with both writing and speaking in English during the next few months, these students did an amazing job. Their fears were replaced by confidence in what they had been learning and practicing during and outside of class.
I suspect we have all heard the story of David and Goliath, a formidable foe about 9 ft. tall. David was just a young man at the time (maybe even a teenager), but because he knew how to use a sling to chase away wild animals who were after his sheep, he knew that he could strike down the Philistine with just one well-slung stone. As Goliath continued to taunt the Israelite army, David said, “You come to me with sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts,….This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you (1 Sam. 17:45-46). David had absolute confidence in God’s provision for his needs, and the needs of Israel to be delivered from the oppressive hand of the Philistines.
Several hundred years later, after Israel was led into captivity in Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar issued an edict that anyone who did not worship the golden image of himself that his craftsmen had made would be thrown into the blazing furnace of fire. As you might have expected, three Israelites named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down to the idol. They confidently asserted that, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king” (Dan. 3:17). Well, I suspect you know the rest of the story as they walked out of the fire not even smelling like smoke!
Our confidence in God is rooted in His character, and there are three aspects of His character that I feel are critical if we are to have confidence in Him. First is His unconditional love for us. Regardless of what we have done, thought, or said, God loves us. Nothing can remove us from His love. Second is the fact that He is good, and desires “good” for us. Paul says that God causes “…all things to work together for ‘good’ for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes” (Rom. 8:28). And finally, His trustworthiness. Our confidence comes from the fact that God can be trusted with any problem or challenge that we face in life.
And that confidence is expressed when we pray. The writer of the Book of Hebrews reminds his readers that the same Jesus who rose from the dead and ascended into heaven is now acting as our great High Priest. And because Jesus knows all about our struggles, weaknesses, and temptations, he encourages us to “…draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).
When my student lacked confidence, she went to her father for help. It was His wisdom and strength that helped her to win the victory. If you need confidence for anything in life, start with presenting your need to your Heavenly Father. Believe that He is wise enough to show you the right path to take, and strong enough to support you in the process. Then, just ask Him for the confidence to “jump the horse” that lies in front of you. And then when you jump it once, you will have the confidence to do it again, and again, and again.
