Chasing Dreams and Pursuing Christ / Guest Post by Mitch Fossier

When I was growing up as an athlete, it often time felt like a balancing act trying to live out my identity as a Christian while pursuing a sport competitively. I always wanted to display my faith in God well, but there were certain aspects of hockey that made this challenging for me. And if I’m being honest, there have been many moments in my career where my success in hockey has taken priority over my relationship with God.

I want to be successful, as I’m sure all my fellow competitors do. I tend to put pressure on myself to achieve certain statistical and career goals within my sport - to a point where I often start tying my value as a person to this success or lack thereof. Even though I ultimately know that my value is not tied to my performance or to outcomes in my sport, I struggle at times to overcome the weight of this self-perceived worth. Hockey can create a whirlwind of emotions. Occasionally there are moments of flying high after short-term success, but there are also times of misery after a missed opportunity, bad play, bad game, bad season etc. When worldly success is the primary goal, there comes the anxiety of wondering "What does this coach or GM think of me?" "What do my teammates think?" and even "What do my friends and peers think?" It’s truly a recipe for unhappiness.

Now, it’s not that these goals or desires for success are inherently bad. In fact, they can be very good things. I believe God wants me to pursue excellence. But when they are NOT viewed through the lens that my sport is a blessing and an outlet to worship the God, who gave me the ability to play this game, I’ve found it doesn’t normally end well.

As I progressed through my collegiate and professional hockey career, I’ve begun to understand more and more how my faith in Jesus and the sport I play not only coincide, but support each other. I am a better and more effective Competitor on the ice because of my walk with Jesus, and I am also growing in my relationship with Jesus because of my experiences in hockey.

The Bible tells me that I am totally accepted (Romans 15:7), I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139), and I am justified by faith not works (Romans 5:1). So why would I ever tie my worth to my success in hockey? My eternity is sealed in heaven with the Creator of all things. And while the desire to be successful in hockey is very real, knowing my identity in Christ shifts my perspective. I am not working for God’s approval; I am working from God's approval. I’ve already been approved. He has accepted me. It was done when Jesus died on the cross and when I accepted Him as Lord and Savior. With this knowledge, I get to chase my dreams freely.

This is still a daily battle for me, and some days I live by this out better than other days. 

Like any relationship, it must be nurtured. If I never spend any time reading, praying, and learning more about God, I can’t expect to reap the peace and confidence that comes with being a follower of Christ. Relationships are active and time invested is the only way to grow.

I tend to do this in a reverse order, and it doesn’t work. I don’t have the strength to change by myself. But, by surrendering my heart and soul to God, he will renew my mind and give me the strength to live a life worthy of His calling. With that comes all the peace in the world.

Let's embrace the season of life we’re in and know that His plan is greater than ours, whether we can see it in the moment or not. Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Remember that God has us in the palm of his hand, and that He is good. While His plans may not be our plans, we can pursue our dreams whole heartedly and freely, knowing that the Creator of the earth has plans to prosper us, giving us hope and a future.