God’s Work Requires Mental Toughness

Today’s reading: Luke 15:3-7

My tennis game is suffering these days (well, actually, it has suffered from this same problem for as long as I can remember).  I’ve not won a single match during the latest season with my team, and, though they have been nice about the whole affair, I’m certain my teammates are becoming impatient with me.

My issue is purely mental:  I often build large lead against my opponent only to lose the match in the end.

The good news, I know, is that this is a common struggle in tennis. One of the beauties (or frustrations) of the (very strange) tennis scoring system is that it lends itself to plenty of “big points” that have more importance than others. Often a player with inferior athletic skills can end up victorious in a match simply by staying mentally focused and winning the most important points.  I have been the victim of this facet of the game many times in my life.  I tend to lose the important points. (In at least two of my matches this season I have actually won more total points than my opponent.) My mental focus is simply not up to par.

But when I ask others for ideas about how to fix this problem in my game, they always say the same thing: “I don’t know what to tell you. It happens to me, too”

It’s clear that, once a person has mastered the basics,  tennis becomes mostly a mental game. (Perhaps as mental as chess, another game that I have difficulty winning, too.) Victory usual goes to the player who has the strongest will to win.

I am grateful to recognize that today’s reading is a lesson on “will”:

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?” (Verse 4)

Reading that, I stop worrying about my tennis game. I realize I have a healthy will in regards to the things that really matter. I would certainly leave 99 sheep to find the lost one, and, to get directly to the Jesus’ point, I certainly do give priority to bringing troubled souls to God. In fact, I have even done some ministering among my tennis buddies (both current and in the past).

The reason I am not living up to my potential in the game, however, is that I don’t focus. I allow a “devil may care” attitude into my head during those big points.

But, you know, that’s okay. I started this by saying that I am “certain” that my teammates are getting annoyed with me over all this losing.  That’s just silly. Some of my friends on the team — and even at least one man who beat me — have become regular readers of these devotionals in recent weeks. That’s what really matters.

Still, we play sports in order to hone our “life skills,” right. So  I can use my tennis game as an opportunity to practice the focus I need to do God’s work more effectively when off the court.  Next time I’m facing a big point in a tennis match against a player I know I can beat, I will not relax and celebrate prematurely the 99 sheep that are not lost. Rather I will stay true my will and focus entirely on winning. I will pretend that illusive winning point is a lost sheep, in fact.

Doing that will not only improve my game. More importantly, it will  help me develop the stamina to win even more souls for God.

Thanks be to God for eternal wisdom. May I develop such greatness in my own spirit.