What Immanuel Means for Athletes
Immanuel.
God with us.
As I have created space to reflect on this incredible reality—that God would put on flesh (Jesus) and live among his creation—God seemed to divinely intervene in my Twitter scrolling and put this quote on the incarnation in front of my eyes.
“What deep descent, from the heights of glory to the depths of shame, from the wonders of Heaven to the wickedness of earth, from exaltation to humiliation, from the throne to the tree, from dignity to debasement, from worship to wrath, from the hails of heaven to the nails of earth, from the coronation to the curse, from the glory place to the gory place at the cross!
In Bethlehem, humility and glory in their extremes were joined. Born in a stable. Cradled in a cattle trough. Wrapped in swaddling clothes of poverty. No room for Him who made all rooms! No place for Him who made and knows all places! Oh, deep humiliation of the Creator, born of the creature woman! But His descent was the dawn of mercy. Because we could not ascend to Him, He descends to us.” - R.G. Lee (1886-1978)
Jesus, who has always existed, entered our human history over two thousand years ago, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah (over 700 years before the birth of Jesus):
“The Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” - Isaiah 7:14.
Immanuel. God with us.
And yet, Jesus has since lived, died, resurrected, and returned to his Father’s presence in glory. So, is he really still with us?
The answer is found in the Gospel of John. The disciples (namely, Thomas and Phillip) were asking Jesus about where he was going and looking for answers. One of the things Jesus said to reassure them was this: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17).
These two verses are fascinating for a couple reasons. One, Jesus is saying that even though he is leaving, the Holy Spirit is coming. God (the Son) is leaving, but God (the Spirit) is coming. Secondly, the phrase “he dwells with you and will be in you” is significant. Jesus is communicating the Spirit is with you right now. He is around you. He is near you. But after Jesus leaves the earth, the Spirit will take up residence inside believers. So, even though God is leaving earth, he is somehow, at the same time, coming into closer proximity with us!
God is very much still with us.
What does this have to do with Christian athletes? I’m glad you asked.
Christian athlete, God is with you…
In the locker room
On the drive to practice
At competition
During half time
In between periods
Every timeout
After your worst game
After your best game
When you curse out an opponent
When you argue with an official
When you lose your confidence
When you reach another personal best
As your talk to your teammates
When you’re up early to train
During every rep in the weight room
Through every mile you run
Through every meter you swim
Through every drop of sweat
During every ball you kick, throw, spike or shoot
During every jump, dive, slide, or tackle
As you stretch
When you’re riding the bench
When coach pulls you from the game
When the referee blows a whistle against you
As you lace up your shoes
After you finally reach your goal
After you fall short of your goal, again
When you get injured
As you wait for the results of the MRI or x-ray
When you get injured again, and again, and again
Through every treatment in the training room
In every little decision you make to keep going, dial it back, or quit
In the anticipation of a new season
When you put your team uniform on
During a winning effort
During a losing effort
When you were the underdog but came away with the win
When you were heavily favored but got upset by a lesser opponent
On the plane or car ride home after competition
As you dress for whatever the weather demands
As you tape, elevate, or massage needy muscles
In the sauna
In the ice bath
As you gasp for more oxygen after another rep
When you collapse on the ground after giving your all
When you stand regrettably after competition, wishing you would have tried harder
When you forget the play you were supposed to run
As you watch film and dissect your performance
When you map out your goals for the upcoming season
Through every life-giving relationship with your teammates
In every conflict you face with your team
When you want to quit
When you keep grinding
When you get the yips
When your coach is asking more of you than you think you can give
Whenever you’re tempted to cheat or bend the rules
During that first week of training after a few weeks of break
As you drink fluids to hydrate
As you eat to replenish
As you sleep to rest
Whenever you relive past athletic memories, good and bad
When you learn a new skill, technique, or move
In your joy
In your hope
In your pain
In your mourning
In your confusion
In your exasperation
In your elation
In your exhaustion
In your celebration
In your desperation
In your frustration
When you’re nervous
When you’re confident
When you’re exposed
When you’re prepared
When you’re peaking
When you’re sleeping
When your headphones are playing your pregame tracks
While fans cheer you on
While fans tear you down
As you seek others’ approval
When you’re preoccupied with shoulda-coulda-woulda
When you wrestle with whether or not to transfer
When you’re not sure you’ll ever get back to your prime
When you’ve lost the joy of playing
When you’re searching for significance
As you try to live out your faith in front of your teammates
As you think about and study your opponent
While you read what others say about you on social media
As you struggle with anxiety
As you deal with depression
As you battle eating disorders
As you wrestle with suicidal ideation
When you compare yourself to others
When you pray for yourself, your team, your coaches, and your opponents
Two weeks after you reached your goal and you wonder “now what?”
In season and out of season
As you transition to retirement
As your coordination, endurance, muscles, bones and tendons fail you with age
Athlete, you’re never alone. In all those moments—and more, God is with you.
