Unshakeable Faith in God

“I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken for he is right beside me.” Psalm 16:8

“Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakeable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.” Hebrews 12:28

I grew up as a soccer player and pastors daughter. Being a pastors daughter meant moving around a lot, as my dad followed God’s call on his life. That was super challenging, but having soccer always made it an easier transition because it was my one constant in life. No matter where we moved I still had the sport I fell in love with when I was six years old.

One of the moves we made was from Canada to San Diego. I remember getting asked by a coach in San Diego to try out for his competitive club team. It was the first time I felt like I was fulfilling my real passion for my sport, like I was finally being noticed and wanted beyond just playing for fun. Before I could even try out, my dad told me that we were moving…AGAIN. I was not too psyched about that, but I didn’t have a choice in the matter.

Moving to Clovis was hard, but again soccer always made the moves a little bit easier because it was my one constant in my life. Soccer helped me make friends, it helped me stay focused and disciplined, it was my outlet and it was always there. Just before high school, my mom was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, a disease that affects your body in different ways depending on where the scars on your brain are. It was really challenging. From junior high through my high school years I spent more time at the hospital than at home. I struggled because my parents went from being super involved, to being around less and less. They missed a lot of my big games and moments I had growing up, not because they were bad parents but just the reality of my mom’s disease.

Soccer was what kept me going. It was what I felt God had given to me: the talent, the ability, the drive to play to keep me going through life’s tough times growing up. It kept me distracted from what was going on at home with my mom. Stepping onto the pitch was honestly my happy place and no one could take that from me.

My last season in high school was all that I had hoped it would be. Our team had been valley champs for the last four years and were going for it again. I had a scholarship to play the sport I loved at the same college my parents went to. I was so psyched about the way life had been going, but one of my last games before playoffs I ended up dislocating my right knee really badly. All of a sudden everything I had worked for was taken from me. That one constant where I felt closest to God, where I didn’t have to think about what was going on at home, was no longer a part of my daily life. This shook me up. All of a sudden I had all of this free time to really process what was going on in my life and my sport and my family.

This is when God showed me the concepts in Psalm 16:8 and Hebrews 12 about unshakeable faith and security in Christ. For me, my security and my constant was soccer. I truly believe that God allowed soccer to be taken away from me for a time to realize how dependent I needed to be on HIM alone and not on my sport. In Psalm 16, David is talking about the unique sense of security felt by believers. God does not exempt us from the day-to-day circumstances of life. Both believers and unbelievers alike experience pain, trouble, and failure at times. BUT the difference between the two is that we can either have a sense of hopelessness about life, our purpose, and “constants” of this life, OR if we seek God, we can move ahead, confident in knowing that our God is UNSHAKEABLE. He is our constant, our rock, our hope in this life, and HE alone gives us purpose. Not our sport, or our relationships, or anything else.

So my hope for whoever is reading this is that you would know that there is a God who loved you enough to die for you and be your constant for you. Know that you have a steady hope in this life regardless of where your sport takes you or when it ends because your purpose does not end when your sport ends. God has greater and bigger plans for you that go beyond your sport, beyond what is happening in your classroom, or at home, or in your career. Keep your eyes above the ground level circumstances and instead focus on the one that promises us joy, victory, and consistency from Him alone, Jesus.

“I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken.” Psalm 62:1-2

Bekah Bryant

I have a passion for telling others about God’s faithfulness in my life, to point them back to the one that has brought me through life’s challenges and getting to come out of them with a big fat smile on my face knowing that I was able to overcome because of Christ. I grew up in San Diego and Clovis, California. Soccer and skiing have been my two major passions in life and started both at an early age. I attended Cal Baptist University and went on to pursue my teaching credential at Vanguard University. I now get to pursue ministry through FCA full time in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa areas!