Wisdom in Competition and Life

In learning what it looks like to compete for Christ, I have found that a total release of everything you have may look different in different situations. There is strategy to consider. In my last post, I talked about the fear that many athletes experience when it is game time. Many times they will tense up and not compete with the freedom from sin that comes from a relationship with Jesus. As a tennis guy, not long ago I experienced fear because I had not hit my second serve in competition in a long time. For those of you who are not familiar with tennis, most of the time you take a lot more risk in hitting a first serve with more precision and velocity. If you miss then you try to hit a more accurate second serve so that you give yourself a better chance to win the point. Eventually I prayed and asked God to forgive me for not giving Him everything I had in hitting my second serve. Then I began to think about what giving Him everything I had in hitting a second serve looked like. When I began to process this, I realized that it would be completely ridiculous for me to hit my second serve just like I did my first one. That is not wise and not giving God everything I had. There is strategy to consider within the context of the game. It would be wise for me to put more spin on the ball to create a more accurate serve. I would still swing my arm with everything I had for the glory of God however I would simply hit the ball in a different place which would create more spin and accuracy. I would still hit the ball without any fear of missing because God said many times in the Bible to NOT FEAR!

This is just like life. The strategy in life may change based on the circumstances God puts before you but those circumstances should in no way create fear because the God we serve promised in His word to never leave us, to strengthen us, to help us, and uphold us with His righteous right hand. God does not desire us to go at life with reckless abandon having no clue where we are going or what we are doing. He desires us to attack life without hesitation with His plan in mind...a plan that He has perfectly created for us and promised to us in Jeremiah 29:11.

Nate Lewis
Area Representative
Western Nebraska