Integrity
Mike Hojnacki - FCA staff and former college wrestler
Ready:
“Whoever walks in integrity will be delivered, but he who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall.” – Proverbs 28:18
Set:
Have you ever been in a nail-biter of a match, tied with short time left on the clock? Lungs burning, body exhausted, the dual meet is on the line or maybe it’s a “go-to” match? In that moment, what will determine whether you have what it takes to go get that next score?
My college coach always used to tell our team: “What you fill up with will overflow under pressure.” If you fill up with intentional drilling, intense training, proper nutrition and recovery, visualization, etc. then that will “overflow” when it matters most. Similarly, if you cut corners in training, eat unhealthy food, don’t bother getting good sleep and have a mind that is closed off to learning, you will not be prepared in a high-stakes situation.
This overflow principle is validated by Proverbs 28, which tells us the same thing about life in and outside of wrestling. Integrity, which is Christlike wholeness (privately and publicly), will preserve us in intense situations or moments of temptation. We fill up with integrity by making choices aligned with God’s way of life and we can know what that is through regularly reading His word for guidance, praying to Him to ask for help, and finding support for the Christian life in a community (i.e. church or small group). We can’t always control what situations we find ourselves in, but we can always control what we fill up with.
When the pressure hits, we won’t just magically be prepared. To be ready when it counts, fill up with integrity!
Go:
What do you “fill up” with to ensure you are prepared for pressure situations?
What might you need to stop filling up with?
Who is in your life to help you fill up with what is good?
Workout:
Overtime:
“Lord, I want to be ready when it counts. I acknowledge that I am weak and can’t choose integrity on my own, so help me to fill up with what is good and put people in my life that will help me along the way. Amen.”