Pursue Jesus, Not Results

Imagine you were stranded in the dessert, and were struggling with great thirst.  All you had was a very expensive, very beautiful, diamond-studded goblet.  Without water, is that goblet of any value?

In life, it can get very easy to become distracted by that which will never truly satisfy.  Just like the goblet must be filled to provide meaningful satisfaction, it is only when we value Jesus above all else that we will be truly satisfied in life.

In the world of sport, it can be very easy to fall victim to pursuing satisfaction in wins, championships, influence, money and fame, but as we examine these factors, it becomes apparent that they are just like a diamond-studded goblet.  By themselves, they will never truly satisfy.

True satisfaction comes from that which strengthens.  Without water, the diamond-studded goblet enhances nothing about us as we struggle through the dessert.  It certainly has monetary value, but money cannot satisfy that which the body needs, for without water, the body will wither and die.

Life is a difficult journey that we are all on, and if we want to stay "hydrated" we need to pursue that which will strengthen and provide us with what we need to continue in our journey.  It is only Jesus which will truly satisfy.

Christ created us in His image.  He designed us to be in relationship with Him and to pursue relationship through the pursuit of becoming more like Him.  As we pursue Him in these ways, we are strengthened and prepared to tackle the challenges that the journey of life throws at us.  We can choose to pursue things like wins, championships, influence, money and fame, but those will never satisfy us through the dessert of life.  It is when we hold onto Jesus that He will "strengthen our frame" and "satisfy our needs in a sun-scorched land" (Isaiah 58:11).  Worldly pursuits cannot satisfy, because they cannot meet our needs.  Only Jesus can meet our needs, and therefore, only He can truly satisfy.  For these reasons, to pursue anything above Him is to pursue something empty.  It is just like refusing to exchange a diamond-studded goblet for a never-ending well of fresh water.

Wins, championships, influence, money and fame are not "bad" in and of themselves, but they empty.  Winning a championship does not make us more like Jesus.  Making money, gaining fame and influence, and becoming the best at something does not make you more like Jesus.  All of these pursuits are end results, and there are no end results in life which will truly satisfy.  We were created by Christ, and for Christ, so only the pursuit of Jesus will truly satisfy.  And since this pursuit is one we can never "arrive" at (for we will never even be close to the character of Christ), anything which is final in nature will simply be unable to satisfy our deepest desires.  To think that things like wins and championships will satisfy is illogical.

Does this mean that we should not pursue championships and wins?  No, it just means that they should not be our priorities.  They must never be valued over pursuing Jesus.

Pursuing Jesus means pursuing His character.  Character such as....

• Courage
• Perseverance
• Hard work
• Peace
• Self-control

While this is definitely not an exhaustive list, one thing that should be clear is that these characteristics are ones which will make us more efficient in the things that we do and pursue.  Therefore, as we pursue Jesus through our engagement in sport, we should pursue characteristics such as these listed above, and characteristics such as these will only enhance performance.  Therefore, we can pursue championships and wins because they are by-products of demonstrating these characteristics.  They are by-products of demonstrating Christ.  

The key term here is "by-product".  If our motives for demonstrating these characteristics is to win instead of reflecting Christ, then we are pursuing worldly desires over Christ.  We must keep first things first.  When we pursue Christ above all else, seeking to honour Him and demonstrate His character, we can expect good things to happen, but we must never treat God as a "genie".  God will not be mocked (Galatians 6:7-9).  We must always keep our motives in check and ensure that we are pursuing Christ for Christ - not pursuing Christ for wins and championships.

To summarize, since we were created by Christ, for Christ, then by our design it is only He who can truly satisfy.  Sport provides us an avenue to pursue Christ and His character, and such character can lead to successes such as wins and championships as a result.  But it is imperative to ensure that our motives are always Christ, not worldly successes.   

Keeping proper priorities - so important

Today I was in tears.  I can't exactly explain why, but I felt like God was telling me something.  It all started when I looked at the old baby seat that we brought Aivry & Josiah home in.  I could picture them in it, and me putting their tiny bodies in, and I just had joy, but at the same time a sense of conviction, realizing that time is passing by so quickly, and I need to make sure that I am making the most of it.  I need to make the most of every moment with my children.  I'm not completely sure what God was telling me, but upon reflection, I believe what is included below are at least part of it.  I've been praying that I would have a powerful relationship with God where I experience His Holy Spirit in deep ways, so I'm so thankful for this time that I had with Him today.

Live every day as if it's my last.

- This means keeping proper priorities, focusing on the things that God says matters.

- Treat people the way that I would want them to remember our last interaction - especially my family.

- Treat my family the way I would if I knew it was my last interaction with them - because I go to be with the Lord, or they do.

- Make the most of every moment to create memories that honour the Lord.  Give them an experience that is memorable.  As John Maxwell says, people won't always remember all that you've done, or all that you said, but they will remember how you made them feel.  Strive to bring joy in every situation & interaction with my family members.

- Make sure my relationship with Jesus is top priority.  If I do this properly, then my second priority - my relationship with my family will be best served.  If I am living each day as if it's my last, then I will be fully present with my family.  I will make the most of every moment to serve them, and love them.  I will not allow myself to get distracted by other things.  I will be fully present and make the most of every moment, and find joy in each moment.

- Living each day as if it's my last helps me to have a better understanding and lens through which I look at correction and discipline.  I have struggled with reacting rather than responding.  I get so focused on the fact that I want them to live righteously that I react, and in essence this is me trying to control their behaviour.  This is wrong.  I must love and support and show grace - just as Christ has always done for me.  If I'm living each moment as if it's my last, it helps me to relax and love them.  It helps me to focus on supporting them and loving them.  It helps me to show grace, and help make the situation one where love abounds.  Once again, they won't always remember what I said to correct them, but they will remember how I made them feel.  If I want my discipline to be effective, I must make sure that they feel loved.


My priorities must change - "Do not conform to the ways of this world"

- I have always desired to do great things in this world.  I have always desired to accomplish great things and have influence.  However, I'm starting to realize more and more that I have a tendency to allow these pursuits to become idols - they can distract me from God.  This cannot happen!  I must "seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness".  There is nothing wrong with me desiring to do great things, but I must seek Christ first.  I must surrender all desires.  I must "Trust in the Lord with all (my) heart, and not depend on (my) own understanding.  In all (my) ways acknowledge Him and He will make (my) paths straight."  I believe it is okay to have goals and plans.  It is wise to set direction and plans for the things that I desire to accomplish.  However, I must first make sure that those desires are from Christ.  I must first make sure that the things that I am pursuing are what He would have me pursue - that they are in line with His Word, and plans for my life.  Only then can I start making plans and creating vision to accomplish them.  And even in those plans, I should seek counsel for how to do that - first from Christ, and also from others in the process.

- But I must seek glory for God, not for myself.  I can have the grandest desires to do the grandest things for Christ, but He may say "the temple is not for me to build - it's Solomon's job".  Therefore, absolutely seek to do great things for Christ, but be surrendered to Him for results.  Make sure I'm focused on doing and creating great things for Him, but that I never make the pursuit about my desire for influence.  If God wants me to plant seeds on ground levels, and allow those things to be flourished through someone else, than that is great.  It is not about me, it is about God's Kingdom, and I must remember that.  I don't need rewards hear on Earth.  Work hard for His Kingdom, and store up rewards in Heaven.

- The world says I need to do things to get noticed.  Follow the example of Jesus.  Serve God, and serve others.  Be great at what you do, and do it for God's glory, and serve others to draw them toward Jesus.



Grow spiritually first, then professionally

- I must not allow professional growth to become an idol.  It must not distract me from growing spiritually.

- I can grow professionally, and I should.  There should even be an urgency to it, however that urgency should never be greater than the urgency/desire to grow in Christ.

- After all, if I am growing professionally, but not spiritually, then the professional growth will be stunted, and even dangerous because my priorities are out of line.  But if I'm growing spiritually, then I can expect the professional growth to flourish because I am most effective for Christ when I am closest to Him.



Know my purpose

- I want to do big things for God.  The things He has taught me above serve as great instruction to help me stay focused and keep my priorities straight.  If my priorities are not in line with what He says they should be, then I will never be effective and produce fruit.

- Through reflection now, and in the past, I believe that God has given me a passion for the following....

1.  Helping kids know Christ & developing a relationship that they could never walk away from:  
I desire greatly for kids to know who Christ is, and what it means to them.  I want them to understand how incredible His promises are at a young age.  I want them to be able to have a base for why we believe what we do, and then the power and joy available to them through Jesus Christ.  I want them to develop this knowledge so that they can remain strong in a world that will hate them, but they have a knowledge, wisdom, experiences with the Holy Spirit that will prevent them from ever caring what anyone but Jesus says.

2.  Help kids develop the attitudes, skills and behaviours that will allow them to find the purposes God has for them, and pursue them with excellence.
Once students have developed deep relationships with Jesus, knowing what He has done for them, and why it matters, then we can move on to the next thing I am passionate about.  I desire greatly to see students develop the skills that they need in order to be effective in the work that they do here on earth.  I desire to help them develop the attitudes, behaviours, characteristics and skills that will allow them to be effective in their work.  I want kids to understand from a young age that God does have a plan for them, but that we need to do our part to develop our attitudes, skills and talents in order to do our part in the process of accomplishing those plans.  We can't sit back and expect God to just accomplish through us what He has for us.  We must be active participants, and that means "making every effort" (2 Peter 1:5-11) to become more like Jesus and develop ourselves with skills and attitudes that will help us be effective.

3.  Find the purpose in every task, to help them develop hope for their futures.
This is the part that I can practice through my job and see what God chooses to do.  If we want kids to know how to develop attitudes, skills & behaviours that will help them accomplish God's purposes, then we must help them find the purpose in everything they do.  One of the major purposes is to help them practice, through those task, the attitudes, skills & behaviours that they will need if they want to accomplish great things for God in the future.  This is an important process because it allows them to recognize purpose in things they may not have recognized it before.  And it allows them to be intentional about developing the skills and talents that they will need in the future in order to do great things for God.  Finding the purpose and developing the skills will provide them with hope for the future because they know that they are developing skills that will actually matter in the future.

Build your house on the Rock

Matthew 7:24-27 is where Jesus tells the parable of the wise man who built his house upon the rock.

This parable shows that success in God's eyes is about becoming more like Him through obedience to His Word.

The wise man built his house upon the Rock (Jesus).  When the rains came, the house stood because the foundation was on the Rock.

When we live for Jesus and obey Him, we become more like Him, and therefore our Foundation is Him.  When the storms of life come, we stand strong and are successful because we have become more like Him - He is our foundation.

I believe these storms can be any challenges.  When we become more like Him through obedience to His Word, He becomes the foundation of our lives, and if He is the foundation, then He is what supports all things in our lives.  This is what a foundation does.  There is nothing that is a part of the structure that it does not support.

For these reasons, I believe that this parable teaches that success in God's eyes is about who we are becoming, not what we accomplish.  Success in God's eyes is about seeking Him, obeying Him and becoming more like Him in the process.  It is about process, not results.  If we focus on the process of becoming more like Him, then we will be prepared when the "storms" and challenges come, and when we are prepared in these ways, then we are prepared to perform, because we have invested in forming a foundation that is built on the wisdom, strength and love of God - the Creator of the entire universe.  The results take care of themselves because we have invested in adding value to ourselves through becoming more like Jesus.  Therefore we are equipped to perform - and as such the results come as a result of being prepared in these ways, along with being surrendered to the Lord which brings His power and strength and wisdom and love to the situation.

When I look at the themes of success found in the Bible, I hear God saying that success is about who you are, because that will affect what you do.  The world tells us that success is about results.  Sure they say that you need to focus on the process in order to achieve the results you want, but their process is void of the One who adds power to the process.  It is void of the One who can accomplish far more than we could ever hope or imagine.  It is void of the One who "began a good work on us and will carry it on until completion".  It is void of the one Who "has plans to prosper us, and hope us hope and a future".

Therefore,don't define success the way the world does.  The world is all about end results.  God is about the process of obedience, worship and becoming more like Him.  Focus on the process of obedience & worship in all you do.  It will relieve the stress that the world experiences when they are all about results.  This is because you can't control results, but you can control the process of obedience to your foundation.  Let the world stress, while you define success the way He does - focusing on what you can control, and what nobody can take away from you - your obedience to the Savior.

Success is about who we are becoming.  It is about becoming more like Him, by seeking Him, trusting Him, and obeying Him, so that He is our foundation.  And when our foundation is Him, results take care of themselves.

Now this is not to say that there is not value in winning. One of the purposes in competing is to win. David wanted to beat Goliath, and he did with authority. But what we need to ask ourselves, is what does God value most? Winning, or becoming more like him.  If we value winning more than character and obedience, then we will make poor decisions that do not honour God.

If we aren't doing it for God and it's not worth doing.

Eric Liddell lessons

Many people have argued that you cannot be a Christian and a successful athlete.  They say this because they say that you cannot have the "killer instinct" that is needed in order to be a successful.  Not only has Eric Liddell proved this to be true, but so have many athletes, including Tim Tebow.  These guys won constantly, and it was their desire to glorify God that motivated them.  Below is more explanation on why Christians actually ahve advantage as athletes.

1.  "With God, all things are possible."

2.  "If God is for us, who can stand against us?"

3.  Eric Liddell was motivated to succeed because he understood that the more He succeeded, the more people would want to listen to him.  He understood that success would likely provide increased opportunities for people to listen to him and allow him to share the gospel.  I can't think of any better motivation to succeed.  That in itself should help us to have the drive needed to win.  It should provide is the confidence and motivation to do what is necessary to win in a manner that glorified Christ.  It is tremendous motivation to do what you need to to win so that you can have the opportunity to accept the win and give all the glory to God.  And in the process, this could very well mean sharing Christ with others.

4.  You can have a "killer instinct" in a way that glorifies God.  It comes from confidence and motivation like King David had.  Confidence in abilities God has blessed you with, confidence in fact that you have worked hard to develop those skills, and an attitude which is absent of all fear, and a confidence that visualizes the victory and expects the victory to happen.

5.  Practice time should be motivated by desire to glorify and worship God.  Drive in practice should be there to get better to increase chance that you will win and be able to glorify God as a result big winning.

6.  Important that our attitude in completion also represents Christ well.  If I go out and am fearful, not strong and confident and fearless, then my witness will suffer.  "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of confidence".  Having the proper attitude and confidence is a big part of worshiping God in the process.


There will always be a ton of sport psychology mentalities and strategies, but it is important that those strategies are always seen through the lenses of glorifying God.  The Bible should be my first resource when it comes to thinking about attitudes and mentalities in sport.  Don't complicate things.  For instance, the Bible says be confident and don't fear.  It doesn't go into all these different strategies for how to be confident and not fear...It is simply a commandment that we must follow because of who God is.  Sport psychology strategies often provide methods with steps for how to be confident and not fear, but as a follower of Christ, He simplifies it for us.  He gives us the commandment and we can rely on His strength.  And again, we can follow the commandment because of who He is, and because He provides us the strength to do it.

Surrender

I need to be realistic with the goals I set.  If I don't have time or they don't fit with my family life, then setting them will only cause frustration.  Set realistic goals enjoy pursuing them, surrender results to God and ask Him to use them as He sees fit.  Ask Him to make something special out of my efforts which will glorify Him, not me.

In times of stress or feeling overwhelmed it is important that I put things in perspective.  I should make sure that I realize that things could be worse, and I should look for the things that are positives and that I can be grateful.fornin those situations.

Aspects to focus on to make sure I am glorifying God

http://swingingbridge.messiah.edu/2013/02/what-does-competing-for-gods-glory-actually-look-like/

The article above is where I got these ideas to reflect upon. This is what I learned...

1.  Glorifying God is in the process, not.the results.

2.  Give the results to God and allow Him to use them as He sees fit.  Seek Him for what your part is in the process, but make sure that you are allowing Him to use them.

3.  Make sure your effort is coming from a place of worship.  Rely on Him and His strength, not your own.  Work hard, but rely on His strength to do it.  You cannot accomplish anything without His choosing to bless your efforts.

4.  Anxiety is the opposite to worship.  Just like it says in God's Word, you cannot add a single moment to your life through worry - in fact it is the opposite.  The same principle/teaching can be applied through sport.  You only hurt your game with anxiety.  You should be focused, but not anxious.  Trust God with the results and enjoy the process of worshiping Him.

5.  Since the worship comes through the process, this means I don't have to be stressed, I don't have to worry about failures in the past where I choked (but rather I can simply learn from them for how to improve for next time - which is again, part of the process of worship)

5.  Don't focus on past or current accomplishments.  They are empty potential and can lead to pride.  Pride causes people to run from you while humility causes people to respect you.  It is okay to look at past accomplishments and be that kfuk for them and to gain confidence through them, but I must not allow them to become pride.  That is abusing the blessing God gave through allowing the accomplishment.  I must give Him the glory, and all of it, always.

7.

Persistence in goals

I have often thought that being persistent to achieve goals, even after failure, could be wrong.  I have heard that doing so is to go against God and His will.  I am now realizing that this is silly.  God teaches us through our failures.  And it is common sense that failure is part of success.  Only Jesus is perfect.  That does not mean that there are not times where it is wrong to pursue something.  Such a time could be if something is not righteous or if God has called you to give up a pursuit.  We also need to ensure that pursuits do not become idols.  After all, we need to keep Proverbs 3:5,6 in mind in all things - seeking God and allowing Him to direct our paths.  But in general, working hard to achieve a goal, keeping God the centre, striving to do it for HIS glory and striving to worship Him through it, that is a good thing.  That does not mean that you will always be successful, but such pursuits, even if they are failed pursuits will be used by God.  And if you don't try, you never know how God could have used it.  Again, unless God says don't pursue, why wouldn't tou pursue as worship to God and see how He chooses to bless your efforts?  I could have not pursued golf because so many people were better than me, and if I had gone that route, I would not have my family.  You never know how God will use your efforts :).  Praise Him!!

Another thing to remember is that if you have a goal you are passionate about, as long as it is God-honouring, there is a very high likelihood that God instilled in you a live for that topic of pursuit.  It could mean that the pursuit is pleasing to Him for that reason... This is not always the case if course.