When Effort is not Good Enough

We live in a world today where effort matters in almost everything you do. Effort matters in a relationship and building a solid foundation. Effort matters in the job place to work your way up and achieve success. Effort matters in the classroom to get good grades. Effort matters on the court or field to perform well in a certain sport, Effort matters. God tells us many times in His word that it does. 

“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” - James 2:26

“But you, be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work.”- 2 Chronicles 15:7

If you are reading this, you are only here because God allowed you to. Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, we are still able to live a life pleasing to God. This is called grace. One thing that people make mistakes in life is, effort brings success. Success in the christian life is defined as living out your role for God’s kingdom. It is not how much money you have, or fame, or even social media followers. One thing effort does is puts us in a better position to succeed. It does not mean we will succeed how we want, but effort and work does increase our odds. 

When you operate out of grace and faith, that means you are doing something not because of what you can get out of it, but because what was already done to give you the opportunity. I am a big believer that to succeed, you must fail. In order to lead, you must learn to follow. God has given us the opportunity to do these things because we are not punished for our mistakes. I am not saying there won’t be consequences to our decisions but I am saying we are still accepted by Christ despite these decisions. 

I recently started playing for a professional team called the Columbus Condors in “The Basketball League,” here in Columbus Ohio. We play teams scattered all over the United States. A couple weeks ago, we traveled to Michigan to play a game. My normal schedule is, I start work as a production supervisor for a packaging and fulfillment company every weekday at 7am. The other things I do throughout my days sometimes vary based on training schedules and such, but I always start at 7am. On the day we traveled to Detroit, the night before I tried to pack and plan out everything so I was prepared for the next day knowing I had a lot to do. I pack all the things I need for work, then I pack my basketball clothes and gear. 

From Columbus, Ohio to Flint, Michigan was about 3.5 hours driving. So as we take the team bus down to Detroit it was only 7 players that traveled due to other people's schedule and prior commitments.Going into this game I knew we were limited on substitutes and it was a game we needed to win to make sure we put ourselves in the best spot for the upcoming playoffs. About 2.5 hours into the drive, something popped in my head and told me to check my bag to make sure I have everything. Which I second guessed myself because I knew I packed the night before. As I went to look into my book bag, I realized I forgot the most important thing I needed to bring. My game shoes. At that moment when looking into my bag and realizing I forgot them, my whole mood changed. Immediately I started to panic and didn’t want to say anything to any of the players or coaches because I knew they would be upset that we would be down another player. 

We just arrived at the arena and I have to tell everyone. Me thinking in my head about how they would react, I said it in a hesitant way of telling them I forgot my shoes. My coach responded with, “Let me look up the closest Foot Locker.” Right there, I felt like a burden was lifted off because instead of making me feel guilty, he wanted to help. Even my teammates joked and made the situation easy to deal with because they supported me. My coach went out and bought me a pair of shoes and we won a close fought game on the road. 

Overall, a situation where I gave great effort to prepare and improve my odds in putting myself in the best position to succeed, I still came up short. Even when I did fail, I was shown grace by my teammates and coaches. In our walk with Christ, we are supposed to give great efforts for Him and His Kingdom. That doesn’t mean we will always succeed how we think we should. It does mean that God will show us enough grace and mercy to still live out his plan! Today, seek to show someone grace that might need it. You never know when it can go a long way. 

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”- Ephesians 2:4-5

The Proper Pursuit

In sports today, the training aspect has become an important part of the journey to success. Establishing a good plan, working hard at it, and succeeding it is a smart way to achieve the goals you have set out for yourself. One thing that gets confused with training today, is that it isn’t the only component needed to succeed. In all sports, but especially basketball, experience from actually playing vs training helps out a player a lot. It allows them to make live decisions on things they practice. 

Growing up in my playing career I gave more of my success to playing and having to figure stuff out on the fly. I also think training and individually working on your game is a positive. I am a believer that you need a healthy dose of both to maximize your potential. 

In our lives, God doesn't just want soul management, He wants soul transformation. Transformation comes from the expansion of the spirit. As a believer in Christ, God implants a new spirit inside of you. In order for you to get to the point of transformation, you must first develop your spirit. So the question comes, How do you develop the new spirit Christ has given you? The answer is to live a lifestyle consistent with the character of God. But also understand we are human, so not perfect but consistent. 

In life’s journey, our focus should be to become as much like God as possible. This requires:

1. Disciplining yourself 

2. Developing your soul 

3. Actually doing something vs just intending to do it

4. Align with whatever God says about an issue, not the world 

It is important for us to know the truth that God has set. It is also important for us to abide in the truth. A lot like my training vs live play example from earlier, it is important to have both to live out what God wants you to be. 

Social media is blowing up a heartfelt message NBA player Bradley Beal gave to his AAU team. Brad is arguably one of the top scorers in today’s game, so he knows the commitment, grind and skill it takes to make it at the highest level. For me, the most powerful thing he said to these teenagers was that God can give you a gift and talent but if you don't work on it and develop it, and use it the right way then God can take it away and it can be a waste. 

No matter small or large, everything good comes from God. It is to be received with thanksgiving. So, in our pursuit we must acknowledge that there are decisions and choices we have to make. God’s way vs the world's way. Focus on the right path to Godliness and strive to be more and more like God each and every day. Also, the good thing about God is, He is loving, so He is always waiting for you when you make the decision to pursue the right path. 

Impactful Confidence

Over the past weekend, I came across a picture of Kobe Bryant. As a fan, I was surprised because I never saw this picture before. After looking at it a little longer and sharing it with my friends in our group chat, two things stuck out to me about this picture:

1. Kobe shooting a ridiculous, impossible looking shot with confidence.

2. The defense is still contesting it, just as if it were a regular shot.

Kobe shooting difficult shots was very common in his career. Being able to make tough shots is why he is considered one of the best scorers of all time. Even knowing all of that, looking at him attempt to shoot behind the backboard with so much focus on his face lets me know that a big part of him thought the shot was going in. Now that's confidence. 

In your spiritual life knowing who Jesus is, accepting him as your savior gets you into heaven. Your faith + works and obedience builds confidence in trusting God to be in control over your life on earth. Confidence comes with knowing who God really is. Even when things look impossible, you know you have a God that can make things possible. To experience that, you must align within His will. 

"and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him." 

- 1 John 3:22

When you go back and look at the picture of Kobe, notice how well the defense is trying to contest and block a shot from a player that is behind the backboard. Kobe was that much of a threat to the defense behind the backboard just as if he were standing right in front of the rim.

This makes me think about our personal lives. The devil will not stop. He will trick and try to deceive you into thinking he can play good defense on you. He wants to attack you where you are most vulnerable. That is why sometimes in our life it feels like one bad thing comes after another nonstop. Biggest key and fact you must remember however, is the game is already won with Jesus. He is the ultimate teammate, coach, and player. Following Him guarantees victory. 

So even knowing Kobe didn't make that shot, it's impressive how much impact he still had from every spot on the court with the ball. We all need to be more like Kobe and build our confidence up through the Lord so we can be an impact in all aspects of life!