“But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.” — 1 John 2:5-6 (NLT)
>> Sign up here for Sports Spectrum devotionals sent right to your email inbox <<
Have you ever been driving and daydreaming, and suddenly you’re at your desired location? You don’t actually remember pressing the gas or brake, following traffic laws, and navigating your way to school or work, but suddenly you’re there. It’s an odd sensation, but it’s birthed from years of repetitive motion or practice.
For 14 years I played soccer, and for four of those years I played year-round, anywhere from 4-12 hours a week. I loved it. I lived it. I knew it deep in my bones.
I had practiced so much that it all became instinctual. I no longer had to look down at the ground to dribble, or consider slowly in my brain all the possible options to pass or kick. My body knew what I had practiced. My feet, my legs, my eyes knew where to look, where to pass and where to run because I had spent hours practicing those things.
Our walk with God can be like this! What if we spent so many hours learning and practicing what God tells us to do that it becomes second nature? We no longer would have to search the pages of the Bible for answers, but when faced with a problem the answers would pour out of a heart simply overflowing with His words. When faced with sin, we’d see the right path and take it without thinking. When faced with an issue that seems insurmountable, we’d know in our hearts that God has it taken care of, simply because we’d practiced knowing this and it became a part of our very souls.
We can get this way, but we have to practice. We have to open His Word and walk in it. We have to spend hours, year-round, kicking His words around, feeling what they feel like in different situations. Then we’ll know where to turn and what to do. We’ll have God’s Word in our hearts and minds, and His Spirit deep within us leading us, and it will feel like instinct. We’ll be so close in our walk with Him that it will be just that — walking.
Are you giving God enough time and energy — enough practice — to instinctually walk out His will? Are you engaged with His Word on a daily basis? Are you talking with Him, listening for Him, and walking out His ways? Are you living your life as Jesus did?
— Ondi Mejia
If you would like to submit a devotional, please email all submissions to
devotionals@sportsspectrum.com.
