Above All

“Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 

‘Lord, if it’s you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’

‘Come,’ he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.  But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord save me!’

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him, ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’”

-Matthew 14:28-30

The parable of Jesus walking on water is a powerful example of the almighty power of God.  The scene is a boat, filled with disciples, in the heart of a massive storm.  The waves are crashing upon them, the wind is howling, the rain is pouring, and the darkness surely heightens the fear gripping their hearts.  Then all of the sudden they see Jesus!  Not in a boat, not in a rescue plane, and no not on a floatee…they see him walking on the water!  I love that.  People talk of how celebs role up to parties in their stretch limos, Mercedes, Feraris, Mustangs…well they have nothing on Jesus.  He shows up, smack dab in the middle of a storm, walking on water; proving that He is greater than the waves, wind, rain, and darkness. 

This parable drives home the fact that Jesus is not just above the water, He’s above ALL.   He’s greater than all.  He can conquer all.  He can rise above all.  The crashing waves don’t faze him and the howling winds don’t shake him.  The rain doesn’t beat him down and the darkness definitely doesn’t drown out His hope.  He is the rock, the fortress, and the ultimate lighthouse during a storm.

This story came to life for me while competing in the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. at the Ultimate Training Camp (UTC).  Collegiate athletes, male and female from across the country, attend UTC to learn how to glorify God through sport.  While at camp, we studied 5 scriptural principles and how to apply them to sport.   The big event at camp was a 20 hour long S.P.E.C.I.A.L. which stands for:  Scriptural Principles + Exhaustion = Confidence In the Almighty Lord.  (Now that is a rock solid math equation).  Every athlete was placed on a team of 6/7 and we participated in 20 straight hours of competition.  Events such as tug of war, push ups, basketball, wall sits, a 3 mile obstacle course filled with insane physical exercises, sprints, and the list goes on and on.  We began at 5pm Wednesday and we finished at 1pm Thursday afternoon.  One of my teammates said it best upon finishing:  “my body’s destroyed but my soul’s ablaze!”

When my team got to the swimming pool, it was 11pm and we were 6 hours into the competition.  As we entered the water, quads were cramping from the constant sprinting across the field after Frisbees, arms were on fire after the never-ending pushups, and every single core muscle was burning thanks to the seemingly endless amount of tug-of-war matches.  But hearts were committed to relying on the strength in Christ.

One of our swimming sprints required every member to swim down and back holding a kick board in front of them.  As I waited in the water, an intern asked about my focal point.  Instantly this Matthew passage came to mind and I said, “that Jesus is above the water, the pain I’m feeling, everything.  He’s above all.”  With this thought playing through my head, I push off from the wall and began my swim.  Three quarters of the way down my quads suddenly seized up.  My mind went directly to the cement blocks I now had for legs and I wondered how I’m ever going to push past this pain.  My thoughts focused on the hurt in my legs and the fact that I'm not even half way done with this sprint!  After I touched the wall and turned to swim back, I saw the intern and our interaction rushed back to me.  In a split second my heart and mind were transformed.  They overflowed with joy that my God is above this pain, He’s above the hurt, and He’s above the difficulty of this task!  Through Him I can and will overcome.

It's not as if my pain and exhaustion magically went away; nope it was still very much present in my body.  However, I stopped focusing on the stuff bringing me down and relied wholeheartedly on God's capabilities.  Yes I am weak, but He is strong.  Because of His truths, I had renewed energy, strength, and determination and began kicking like crazy.  Did I feel the burn in my legs?  Of course, but I was consumed with joy knowing that this pain, exhaustion, and water will not stop me.  I absolutely love these moments where I think I’ve reached my physical limit and then God completely shatters it by unleashing His almighty power.

When Jesus was walking on water he invited Peter out on the waves too.  Read what happens when Peter put his trust in Jesus:  “[Peter] walked on the water and came toward Jesus” (Matt 14:29).  Peter legit walked on water!  Jesus showed not only that He can do all things, but also that “we can do all things through Him” (Phil 4:13).  What happened the moment Peter took his eyes off Jesus?  “When he saw the wind, he was afraid and, [began] to sink” (Matt 14:30).  When I lost sight of my focal point and began to worry about the pain in my legs, I slowed down and began to sink.  But the second I saw that intern, I was brought back to my focal point:  Jesus is above all.

A pastor once said, “there are 3 people in this world: 

1.      people going into a storm

2.      people in a storm

3.      people coming out of a storm and heading right back into one

What are the storms in your life?  What is your focal point?  Are you staring at the storm or staring at the beacon of light, hope, strength, perseverance, and security?  Who will be the intern for you to remind you of your focal point?  Is your mind powered by the storm (my legs are on fire, how can I do this) or by Jesus (Jesus is above this pain, I can do this through Him)?

This passage starts by saying “Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake” (Matthew 14:25).  God never once leaves us alone.  Jesus saw the boat tossed from side to side.  He saw the waves crash around them.  He heard the wind roar and the rain hammer down.  He felt the fear the disciples felt.  So Jesus went to them.  Jesus sees us and He comes to us.

I pray that we see Jesus walking next to us in our storms.  I pray we focus our gaze on the God who is above every single physical pain, broken relationship, and sickness.  I pray we put our faith in Jesus and experience the power of walking above it all with Him.

Strength in Christ.

G.I.G.I.

Strength in Christ

“It is God who arms me with strength” – 2 Samuel 22:33.

2 Samuel 22 reveals God’s strength in an incredibly detailed way.  The strength that I have always witnessed within these writings is the powerful force God has against the enemy.  As an athlete, I am drawn to His conquering love that overrides and crushes all opposing forces.  All athletes head to the weight room to develop strength and then enter competition with the focus of crushing the opponent.  (As a reminder, the ultimate opponent is the devil and the thoughts he fills us with: anxiety, fear, failure, depression, etc.).  Therefore God’s strength displayed in 2 Samuel 22 is easy to pick up on as it directly corresponds to sport. 

God’s mind-blowing strength is so desirable that I have always loved 2 Samuel 22:33:  “It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.”   It has been a “go-to” verse during workout sessions and conditioning testing.  When we are pushed beyond our physical limits (which seemed to happen every day on the Olympic tour…still blows my mind how we would be surprised at the levels reached after yet another excruciating workout or skate) it was crucial for me to drawn upon someone infinitely stronger than I.  For example, during conditioning tests I would repeat “It is God who arms me with strength” over and over and over as my legs absolutely burned with pain.  Repeating this phrase strengthened my mind in the singular focus of the task at hand…rely on God’s strength.  This not only enabled me to push past the pain, but it instilled a resiliency and realization that I am drawing strength from God, which meant I could skate forever on His strength!  My heart was filled with confidence as I pressed on.  Relying on Him meant I could not only finish this test, but succeed, thrive, and excel. 

Focusing every thought on “it is God who arms me with strength” allowed my mind to not obsess over the pain in my body.  Dieter (my strength coach at the U) recently told me this awesome analogy depicting the same message:  Imagine you are getting chased by a lion and you run through a thorn bush; your brain doesn’t even comprehend the physical pain incurred by the thorn bush at the time because the sole thought coursing through the entire body, mind, and soul is “RUN FASTER!!!!!!”.  When we are in survival mode, we push all unnecessary thoughts to the background because they deter from the ultimate goal of RUNNING FASTER!  Only after you escape the lion and the adrenaline wears off do you realize the pain caused by the thorns.  This is how I looked at the conditioning test…thankfully no lions were hunting me down :).   The burning in my legs is a negative thought that interferes with performing the task at hand.  I’ve never been chased by a lion but I highly recommend not slowing down to stare at your blood filled arms because the lion will be pouncing.  Acknowledging the pain during the competition only presents an easy avenue to give up or slow down.  Focus on Christ, press on, and thrive.  My pastor in Boston has mentioned that with Christ we don’t just survive, we thrive!  Therefore, leave behind survival mode and enjoy “thrival mode.”

Another popular verse for drawing strength is “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).  This is a fantastic verse but sometimes I like having the “God” go before the “I”.  Like my name: GIGI stands for God and I God and I.  God goes before I do.  It’s a reminder that I am second, He is first.  Sometimes when I say the Phil 4:13 verse, the devil could throw in a little doubt by saying, “well you have struggled before” or “you didn’t succeed earlier when you attempted this.”  So when I lead with God first (“It is God who arms me with strength”) then there is absolutely no wiggle room for deceiving thoughts to take this verse down.  Why?  Because God has never once struggled, failed, or faltered.  He is undefeated, perfect, a 100% win percentage in all battles!  It takes the pressure off of me by focusing on a God who is infinitely mightier than I.  Therefore, having a verse that literally reminds me of who I am and that God goes first floods me with confidence.

May God go before you and fill you with strength, confidence, and peace!

G.I.G.I.

Eternal Perspective on Losing Weight

"Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with [...] the anxieties of life" - Luke 21:34.

How refreshing is this verse?!  Look at the weight that God wants us to focus on:  the weight of our bodies?  Those extra pounds that everyone wants to lose from their stomach, hips, or thighs?  Nope.  He instructs us to pay attention to the weight of our hearts.  The world constantly focuses on the outside appearance; however, God cares about the condition of our hearts.

How to lose physical weight?  By eating healthy and working out.  It takes a lot of dedication and commitment to plan out healthy meals and get a good workout in.  Since healthy food is more expensive, we must spend time examining our budget to find ways to accommodate this nutrition plan.  A significant amount of time is needed to research new recipes, grocery shop, and prepare meals.  If we aren't able to eat every meal at home, we need to plan accordingly by preparing food ahead of time and bringing a "lunch box" on the go.

Physically working out and eating healthy are great things to do.  Ultimately though, God directs our primary focus to our heart.  He wants us to "be careful" (Luke 21:34) about our inside appearance.  Being careful is defined as "done with thought and attention."  How much thought and attention do we spend each day working on humility, patience, and thankfulness?  Listed above are some things that are necessary for a great nutrition plan.  Do we take the same approach to our spiritual well-being?  Engaging in a spiritual workout requires the same amount of commitment and dedication.  Reading the Word, praying throughout the day, and spending time sharing/listening with and to other believers is important in strengthening our hearts.  Like the example where someone prepares their lunch box the night before, this same skill can be applied to a busy next day...set reminders on your phone to withdraw from work, go to the bathroom or outside for a break to read a verse, send up some prayers, text a friend some encouragement, or listen to a worship song.

I pray that all of our minds continue to be transformed so that we look at food, body image, and appearance from an eternal perspective.  We are called to be spiritually fit first and then everything else is second.  By allowing God to take the added pounds off our hearts, we are uplifted with a renewed sense of confidence in Christ, ourselves, and others.  Nothing good comes from trying to live up to the ridiculous standards the world places on how everyone must look.  If you don't fit the perfect stereotype the world thinks as beautiful then all hope is lost.  Well, God is here to remind us that we are all created in His image; therefore we are filled with beauty, grace, and power.  "The Lord does not look at the things people look at.  People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).

Here's a prayer that we would pray at times before our team workouts:  "I pray that anyone who walked in wanting to lose body weight, leave having the weight removed from their hearts.  I pray that we rejoice not in how strong we are but how strong our God is.  "It is God who arms me with strength" (2 Samuel 22:33).  Lord give us your strength, shut out the voice of deceipt, and let your power be on full display.  Now's the time to work out the greatest muscle we have:  our heart.  In Jesus' name, amen."

Let us all continue looking at ourselves and others the way God does...not by the outside, but the inside  Let all the anxiety, burdens, and stresses be removed and our hearts be uplifted.

Strength in Christ.

G.I.G.I.