But Jesus shows us a different way. When you realize that you are playing for a bigger purpose, the outcome stops carrying the same weight.
Whether we win, lose, or draw, God is worthy of our worship.
Every day, I am grateful. Every day, I praise God for what He’s given me. When we win, I praise God because He is good. When we lose, I praise God because He is still good. The outcome doesn't change anything about who He is.
In the shadow of our worship, the outcome becomes just a bonus on the side. The true purpose in competing is to honor God with our time, energy, and talent. When you are doing the Father’s will, the outcome becomes less important.
We live from victory and not for victory.
We live and play from the victory that Jesus gave us on the cross. We have won the battle against sin and death—not by our own efforts, but because Christ Jesus has already won the victory for us. No other win can come close to this! It is the foundation everything else in our life is built upon.
The Bible tells us that we are to worship God in spirit and in truth. When things don’t go the way we want, we must weigh whether we are reacting in the flesh or responding in the Spirit.
Acting in the flesh can lead us to say and do things in a rush of emotion that we may regret. I know, I have experienced that before.
Proverbs 13:3 reminds us of the importance of controlling our tongue and teaches us that opening our mouth without prior judgement can lead to ruin.
It’s not always easy, but having a relationship with God means that you should think and act differently than your teammates. In the heat of the moment, we have to do our best to operate out of the Spirit God has given us instead of giving into our flesh.
I spent part of my career playing in Russia. The town that I played in had very few Christians. Every game, I wore an undershirt with a Bible verse printed on it. For some reason, even in a city where few people knew Jesus, the fans loved my undershirts.
By God’s grace, something as simple as this was used for His glory and to share His name with that town. A small act of faith, printing a Bible verse on my undershirt, God used to influence an entire community.
Of course, I hoped to win every game. But how could I be too concerned with the outcome or react in the flesh to a loss when God was doing something far bigger than football?
Challenge
Has your concern over the outcome ever prevented you from using your sport as a form of worship before God?
How can you remind yourself that you play from victory and not for victory?
Prayer
“God, I thank you for the victory we have in Jesus. Help me to compete from the confidence I have in You. Whether I win or lose, you are worthy of my worship. Help me use my sport to honor You. I trust that as I act in faith, You will move in the place I am in. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
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