Ready:
“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.” —Philippians 3:13-14
Set:
Off-season routines are vital for the next year of competition. An off-season is needed to allow your body to recover and be restored. Burnout happens when an athlete doesn’t stop to rest. But the off-season is not the time to stop lifting weights, building sport specific skills or eating a healthy diet. You need to keep these things as regular parts of the off-season. There is a balance that needs to be found between recovery and restoration as well as building skills.
Do you give yourself a chance to rest and repair? Do you take a timeout at any point? In the off-season, Steph Curry, one of NBA’s greats, spends about 60% off the court working on agility and strength training. He spends about 40% of his time on the court, refining and practicing skills and shooting. The in-season play is built from the off-season workouts.
In our walk with Jesus, it may seem like the routine isn’t all that important. But it’s the specific time given to the Lord and the personal disciplines you work on in your alone time with Jesus that builds who you are and what you do in daily life. Our daily time with Jesus is like off-season work that’s very specific to what is to come “in season”. It’s very intentional and it requires dedicated effort every time.
Paul encourages the Philippians to press on and move forward. He states the goal and sets his mind to pursue that goal. Press into these things to advance and get better. It’s experiencing a greater transformation of Christ Jesus in you, for you, from you and with you. There is an eternal prize for reaching forward in Christ Jesus. This is a direct call of God on our lives to this transforming relationship now and for eternity later.
Use these off-season routines to reach, lean, press on, today toward God, toward Jesus Christ and toward eternity.
Go:
Do you find yourself getting tired and worn out from the constant daily work in your sport? How do you manage this daily reality?
When you think of the off-season, do you see it as the opportunity for advancing and getting better prepared for the sport you love?
The Bible instruction is straightforward – pursue the heavenly prize – is this what you do daily?
Workout:
Overtime:
“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your call upon my life. This call to arrive home to heaven with You through Jesus is amazing. Thank You. And I need Your help to press onward and upward. Give me wisdom and courage to do this every day. In Your name I pray, amen.”