Do you ever feel burnt out in your coaching or your training as an athlete? The daily routines of training and competing can easily crush our motivation if we’re not careful. During my college years, I enjoyed watching and coaching younger athletes as they competed in our annual kids camps. There’s something special that children exude during competition that we usually lack: a simple joy and love for life.

As we seek to follow Jesus Christ in and out of our coaching or competing, we need daily reminders of who we are and the motivation to keep fighting the fight. The phrase “in Christ” occurs over 160 times in Paul’s letters in the New Testament. He consistently reminded his readers of their identity in Christ before a certain behavior or command was addressed.

When it comes to excellence, I first have to look at everything through God’s eyes. I look at who Jesus was as the ultimate example of excellence, service, and humility, and all of those values. I look at Him, and I obviously fall short in each of those in comparison to Him. His example is the pure definition of excellence. It all starts with Jesus and looking at Him and His life. You look at the Christian faith and who we are as people, and we all fall short of Christ’s example. But that doesn’t mean we should stop striving for excellence. I think when we give up on that, we sort of miss the whole concept that Jesus teaches us.

One of the earliest lessons I learned in competition was that no one came to our home field and defeated our team in front of our family and friends. It was always motivating to deny the visiting team victory on our turf. There’s something special about being the home team. Teams now have slogans like “Not in our house!” and “Not in our backyard!” There is a responsibility to secure and protect home-field advantage.

Waiting is one tough job! In sports, players and teams are waiting . . . waiting patiently for their time to shine. In God’s Word, Isaiah wrote in chapter 40 that waiting is a good thing. The word “wait” does not measure time spent, but is rather a process of strengthening until fulfillment. Let me suggest three reasons why we must wait on the Lord: (1) waiting creates time during which we can trust God more (Psalm 27); (2) waiting prepares us to have our real needs met (Psalm 40); and (3) waiting encourages us to always be prepared for Christ’s return (Matthew 24).

Immediately after Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt obliterated the 200-meter dash world record at the Beijing Olympics, he wrapped himself in his country’s flag, ran to the camera, and boldly proclaimed, “I’m number one! I’m number one!” Not only did he win the gold in the 200-meter dash, but in the 100-meter as well. Both were done in world-record times—a feat never before accomplished! But while other winning athletes graciously addressed their fellow competitors, Bolt beat his chest proclaiming his dominance. The International Olympic Committee President commented, “I think he should show more respect for his competitors and shake hands.” What a novel idea!

How would you like to show up for your baseball game this summer, thinking you were playing the 9th grade team from across the county, and when you get to the game you realize you are facing CC Sabathia and the New York Yankees? I imagine that would be pretty tough. It always pays to know your opponent. However, our earthly opponent does not play fair.

God’s Word tells us about our opponent in life: the prince of darkness—Satan. In 1 Peter, he is described as a roaring lion seeking to devour. Ephesians tells us we are in a spiritual battle for our lives. Today’s verse teaches us we are not to be conquered by evil, and that we need to fight. Too many people try to fight through their own power and strength. To put it into perspective: Satan=evil and God=good.

As much as we can predict and plan for life, we never know how things are going to play out. We see this all the time in sports. That’s probably one of the reasons that sports are so great—they’re completely unpredictable.

What a great metaphor for life, too. It’s the same way. How many times are we taken by surprise in a day? From little things like unexpected phone calls or traffic jams, to big, life-altering bombshells like deaths and natural disasters. We just never know what’s coming.

Our family plays a game in which we ask, “Would you rather . . . ?” then our children have to make a decision. (Example: Would you rather win a World Series or Super Bowl?) Last night, I asked, “Would you rather be a great leader or a great servant?” I barely finished the question before my 10 year old, Abigail, said, “Dad, they’re the same thing. If you serve someone, you are showing and teaching someone what Jesus would do.” Wow! After picking myself up off the ground, I realized she nailed it. Abigail understands that a great servant is always a great leader, but a great leader is not necessarily a great servant.

I wake up to the sound of a jingle coming from my chocolate lab’s collar at the foot of my bed. Abbie is rustling around getting ready for a new day and soon makes her way over to my side of the bed. She sits looking up at me waiting to see if I’m going to join her. After all, it’s a beautiful new day created by the beautiful One.

With Abbie in tow I head out of the driveway for my morning run along a dirt road. The road seems to play out my life with each step I take. It is uneven and filled with deep holes, and I know that at any moment I could trip and fall. But I have faith in God’s path and direction, and I press onward responding to His call.