Focal Point: A Simple Practice for Remembering Christ During Competition
Most Christian athletes know this feeling. You want to honor God in your sport. You want your faith to matter when the pressure is on. You want Christ to shape the way you compete. But competition moves fast, emotions run high, and it is easy to get pulled into fear, pride, anger, or self-focus.
In the middle of competition, it does not take much to lose perspective.
When I was a college wrestler, some of my biggest faith + sport questions centered on this tension: How am I supposed to remember God while I am wrestling as hard as I can? When my hand gets raised—or when it does not—how do I stay grounded in a deeper mission? When calls do not go my way, how do I return my focus to Christ in the middle of competition?
One simple and practical answer is to use a focal point.
What Is A Focal Point?
A focal point is a visual reminder of a biblical truth. It is something you can quickly look at that helps bring your mind back to God. It reminds you that He is present with you, that your identity is in Christ, and that your sport is not ultimate. A focal point helps you recover a godly perspective in the middle of practice or competition.
Hebrews 12:1–2 gives us the heart behind this idea: “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” The Christian life is a life of looking to Jesus. In sport, that does not stop when the whistle blows or the game starts. Athletes do not leave discipleship behind when competition begins. We still need help fixing our eyes on Christ.
God’s People Have Always Needed Reminders
Throughout the Bible, God calls His people to remember. He knows how easily we forget who He is, what He has done, and what is true. Again and again, Scripture urges us not to drift. God’s people were given rhythms, symbols, meals, stones of remembrance, and repeated acts of worship to call truth back to mind. These reminders were not magic. They were gifts. They helped God’s people remember His presence, His faithfulness, and His covenant promises.
That matters because sport has a way of shaping perspective very quickly. When things are going well, it is easy to become proud, self-sufficient, or overly confident in yourself. When things are going poorly, it is easy to spiral into frustration, shame, panic, or fear. In either case, your focus shifts. Instead of seeing competition through the lens of Christ, you begin to see Christ through the lens of competition.
That is when a focal point can help.
A focal point can interrupt the spiral. It can reframe the moment. It can remind you that your identity is not changing with your performance. It can steady your heart after a mistake. It can loosen the grip of anxiety. It can help turn your mind from panic to prayer, from self-condemnation to trust, from pride to gratitude. It can remind you that Christ is still Lord in this moment, and that you are still called to compete in a way that reflects Him.
For one athlete, a focal point may remind them, “God is with me.” For another, it may remind them, “My worth is not on the scoreboard.” For another, it may bring to mind, “Play for an audience of One.” The specific truth may vary, but the purpose is the same: to bring the mind back to God.
How & When To Pick A Focal Point
A focal point can be almost anything visible and accessible.
When I first learned this concept at Athlete in Action’s Ultimate Training Camp, I drew a cross on the top of my shoe. It wasn’t very big but I knew when I looked down at my shoe, I would be reminded of the Biblical truth that God was with me. I know of an athlete that uses the scar on their arm that reminds them of God’s faithfulness through hardship. Another I know uses a tattoo that points to a biblical truth. I’ve seen a wristband, a glove, a bat, a stick, a line on the court, a goal post, a tree by the practice field, or some other visual marker in your environment used. The point is not the object itself. The point is what it reminds you of.
That is important to say clearly: the power is not in the focal point. The value is in the truth attached to it.
A good focal point should be easy to see, easy to access, and connected to a clear biblical reminder. You do not want to choose something complicated or distracting. You want something that can help you quickly refocus without pulling you out of the moment. A focal point is not supposed to take your attention away from competing. Rather, it should help aim your intensity in the right direction. It should help you re-enter the moment with a Christ-centered perspective.
That is why preparation matters. Before practice or competition starts, take a minute or two to identify your focal point and decide what it will remind you of. Do not wait until your emotions are already running wild. Think through it beforehand. What truth do you most need to remember today? God’s presence? Your identity in Christ? Freedom from fear? Trust in God’s sovereignty? Gratitude? Humility?
It can help to connect your focal point to a short phrase or verse. For example:
“Fix your eyes on Jesus.”
“God is with me.”
“I am loved.”
“Compete for an audience of One.”
“Be strong and courageous.”
“Trust, then compete.”
“Play free.”
These short phrases are not meant to replace Scripture, but to carry Scripture into the moment. They help translate biblical truth into the speed and intensity of sport.
As an athlete, I found myself returning to two particular truths. The first came from Matthew 6:25–34, which reminded me to trust the Lord and not be consumed by worry. When I looked at the cross on my shoe, I would remind myself, Do not worry about the results. Wrestle because God has given you this gift. That is enough.
The second came from Romans 8:34–39, where God assures those who are in Christ that nothing can separate them from His love. When I looked at my shoe, I was reminded, Because I am in Christ, God is always with me, and nothing in this match can separate me from His love.
Use the Pause, Don’t Waste It
During competition, use your focal point during natural moments of downtime. Depending on your sport, this could be during a timeout, between plays, while waiting for a free throw, during a dead ball, before a serve, between innings, after a whistle, on the bench, or while resetting after a mistake. These are often the moments when your mind starts running. These are also the moments when a quick glance and a quick reminder can steady your heart.
The phrase “Down time is reset time” is helpful for remembering this idea.
Athletes already know how to use breaks in competition to reset. They catch their breath. They listen to coaching. They gather themselves physically. A focal point simply adds a spiritual dimension to that reset. In those brief windows, you can train yourself not only to recover your body and your strategy, but also to recover your perspective and your spirit.
Like anything else in sport, it takes practice.
At first, using a focal point may feel unnatural. You may forget to use it. You may choose one that does not work very well. That is okay. Learn from it. Adjust and get teammates to be in it with you. Some athletes may use the same focal point for a long season because it becomes deeply meaningful. Others may use different ones in different settings. Soon you may find several that serve you well.
What matters most is that you are intentionally training your mind to return to Christ.
Athletes are always being formed by what they repeatedly look to. If your eyes and heart constantly run to the scoreboard, social media, statistics, approval, frustration, or comparison, those things will shape you. But if you build rhythms that repeatedly direct your attention back to Christ, that too will shape you. A focal point is one small but meaningful way to practice that redirection.
Let’s keep this practice in the right place. A focal point is not a guarantee of peace, perfect composure, or strong performance. It is not a shortcut to maturity. It is not a way to control outcomes. It is not a replacement for prayer, Scripture, or abiding deeply in Christ away from the field or court. It is only a tool. But it is a useful one. In a world where competition constantly tries to narrow our vision, we need practical tools that widen it again.
Bring Your Eyes Back to Jesus
Christian athletes do not need less intensity. They need rightly directed intensity. They do not need to care less. They need to care in the right order. They do not need to disengage from competition. They need to compete from a deeper center.
A focal point can help with that. It can help turn your eyes back toward Jesus in the middle of the very place where you are often most tempted to forget Him.
So before your next practice or game, pick a focal point. Choose something visible. Attach it to a biblical truth. Think through what you want it to remind you of. Then use it during the natural pauses of competition. Let it call you back again and again to what is true.
Because in the heat of competition, perspective is fragile. And sometimes one simple glance can help bring your heart back to Christ.
