The only way to live life to the fullest is to live in complete reliance on the One who gave us life to live. Through the good times and the bad, we are to lean on God and trust in His will for us.
It’s easy to follow God when things are going well, but it’s even easier to fall away during that time. It’s often when you find yourself in the midst of the valley that you realize just how far you’ve drifted away from Him. But no matter how far you fall away, when you decide to rely on Him, He will always make your paths straight.
Recently, God has given me the realization of where I am and where I’m supposed to be. For each individual moment, He’s perfectly prepared me for where He has me. I don’t have to strive or be something I’m not, I only have to recognize that where my feet are presently is exactly where He wants me and He’s perfected me for this moment. His grace isn’t for two weeks from now, two days from now, or even two hours from now. His grace is for right now.
We always want more though, don’t we? We often are stuck looking ahead at things instead of resting in the knowledge that He is Lord and He has us right here, right now for a purpose. If you can learn to live in the joy and presence He offers, you will be amazed at the ways in which He may lead you and impact others.
More than anything, I want to be someone who cares about others instead of being wrapped up in myself. The arrogance falls to the wayside when we start trusting God for each moment and caring about other people first. As the Body of Christ, we are to be His hands and His feet. We are to love as He does and care for others as He does. When we find ourselves thinking too much about the future, we start to become more self-centered and that is not how we are called to live.
Being a professional athlete adds a whole new layer of challenge to this goal. It’s tempting to focus on success and try to plan out your future for weeks, months or years to come. This mindset takes me out of the present and into my own goals for my life. But being in this industry also provides me with a new avenue to completely rely on Him and know that even here His Kingdom is being built each moment. With this platform, radical trust and reliance on God can be a great way to spread the message of Christ and my confidence in Him.
There are moments when we all struggle with being present in the moment. When I encounter these times, I go right back to God in prayer. I ask Him for peace in the moment, that His presence would overwhelm me. My focus needs to be where my feet are today, not tomorrow or the next day. When I stray too far ahead, I know these thoughts are not from God, they’re from the enemy. They are not conducive to building His Kingdom.
I try not to let my heart and mind get wrapped up in those things, but the only way to combat this is through prayer. It’s only through Christ that we can move forward through the temptation of worry. Identify these moments for what they are — lies from the enemy. Turn from these lies, know the truths of Jesus and hold onto these instead.
I’m right here for right now. I don’t know where I will be tomorrow, but I’m here because this is where God has called and placed me for this time.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life.” — Matthew 6:25-27
— Matthew Boyd, Detroit Tigers pitcher
The Increase, part of the Sports Spectrum Network, is a community of Christian pro athletes sharing their personal stories of the decrease of self and the increase of Christ (John 3:30). Visit TheIncrease.com for more stories and videos.
