Red Flags

READY

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that everyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16 (NIV)

SET

My husband, Jimmy, and I started a Honda/Subway racing team on the professional circuit of Supercross racing. We partnered with an owner of several Subways in the Chicago area, and he eventually became our team manager. Around 2003, Supercross racers were challenging each other to move from 250cc bikes to 450cc bikes, which were much faster. There were just a couple of guys who switched over at this time. Jimmy wanted to wait a little longer to see if this fad would catch on or be too dangerous. When we first pitched this to our manager, he was shocked as to why we’d even question the change. Instead of caring about the safety of the riders, he just wanted the team to be the best of the best, the fastest on the track. This was our first red flag. Eventually, we had a very heated debate and ultimately decided to walk away from the team.

No matter how hard we tried to do excellent things for the team, the manager was never happy. We were so much more at peace when we decided to get out from under his thumb. During this challenging time, Jimmy leaned on his life motto/verse from Colossians 3:23 -- that whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people.

Here’s the great news about the truth in Colossians 3:23: God doesn’t care how well we perform or if we’re the fastest on the track. God only cares about your heart, and that care stems from love.

God can’t love us any more or any less than He does right now. His love is perfect and exceeds anything else. He even loves us so much that He sacrificed His one and only Son -- Jesus Christ -- so that we can experience an eternal relationship with Him. Jesus took our place on the cross, bearing all the consequences of sin Himself. He was broken to make us whole. And He didn’t die to become King; He died to get us into the Kingdom. He offers us peace with God and a personal relationship with Him. Through faith in Jesus, we can experience God’s love daily, discover our purpose and have eternal life after death.

So the next time you’re feeling the pressure to be the fastest or compete with the best, remember God’s love has no contingencies. Through Jesus, we can trust that His plan has no red flags.

GO

• Have you ever tried to gain approval from any other person? How did it make you feel?
• Did you know that God has given you a gift of salvation, which means He wants you in Heaven with Him one day? How does it make you feel?

WORKOUT

1 Peter 3:18; Romans 3:23

OVERTIME

“Lord, thank You for being broken so I could be whole. I acknowledge that I have sinned and I need a Savior. You are the King of Kings and You have chosen me to be Your child and to love me perfectly. Thank You. I don’t have much to offer, but I do love You and I’m thankful. Because You died for me, I now have access to God directly and to Heaven after I die. Thank You for the most amazing gift! In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Donita Povolny serves as the Executive Vice President of Fellowship of Christian Athletes - Motorsports and serves staff around the world. She grew up in Indiana and graduated from Ball State University. She now lives in Minnesota with her husband and three boys. Her husband raced dirt bikes professionally for 17 years.