The "I Need To" Condition

Do you ever feel burnt out in your coaching or your training as an athlete? The daily routines of training and competing can easily crush our motivation if we’re not careful. During my college years, I enjoyed watching and coaching younger athletes as they competed in our annual kids camps. There’s something special that children exude during competition that we usually lack: a simple joy and love for life.

As we seek to follow Jesus Christ in and out of our coaching or competing, we need daily reminders of who we are and the motivation to keep fighting the fight. The phrase “in Christ” occurs over 160 times in Paul’s letters in the New Testament. He consistently reminded his readers of their identity in Christ before a certain behavior or command was addressed.

We seem to have a reoccurring problem: The “I Need To…” condition. For example, I need to stop being discouraging during practice or I need to read more of the Bible. We’re so used to pushing ourselves that when we do this in our walk with Christ, we make it about an action before we meditate on who we are in Christ. We are children of God when we choose to trust in and follow Jesus Christ without condemnation, and we follow Him because of His love for us. If we let this mindset change, now the things we “need to” do or say will happen as we grow deeper in knowing His love for us and who we are in Him.