Twenty-nine years after winning its last NCAA basketball title, the Stanford women became national champions again in 2021. The Pac-12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year and Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson’s sister Anna was a big reason for their success on the court. Her path to the title included losing her dad when she was 12 and battling through a concussion as a freshman. She tweeted, “There’s no material possession, no party, no person, no amount of money that’s greater than Jesus’ love. A free gift that lasts forever.” She explained how her faith and love for Jesus helped her in an ESPN story, “When things aren’t going my way and it’s tough on the court, I always whisper, ‘He must increase, I must decrease. That’s John 3:30. I wrote that on my left wrist and ‘joy’ on the top of my left hand before every practice. For me, that means minimizing myself—to put others first, and Jesus first, is more important than anything else. My faith has helped me with my definition of success. It’s definitely not all about me.”

Ruth 3-4 – Ancestress

Wilson’s love for her Lord helped her compete regardless of the difficult circumstances. Likewise, Boaz’s love for Ruth (Ruth 3-4) is an example of love finding a way despite Boaz not being the nearest relative to Ruth. Both Ruth and Naomi were impoverished and lost their land with no way to ever “redeem” it. When the nearest relative passed on marrying Ruth, she became the wife of Boaz. She had no way of knowing it at the time, but her future would be much greater than her past as she became the ancestress of the Messiah (Jesus Christ)! 

Ruth put God first when she left her home. God honored her. She proved that integrity, kindness, love, and charity still could be lived in the darkest of days. Ruth kept her eyes on her redeemer and not on her circumstances, her past, or herself. She had no way of knowing she was part of God’s eternal plan to bring the Messiah into the world.

The Kingdom Coach & Athlete keep their eyes on Jesus, no matter how hard the circumstances. They know Jesus Christ is their Redeemer. He is free from sin. He is a wealthy King, willing to pay the price in blood for their redemption!

Bible Memory Verse – “But Ruth said, “Do not press me to forsake you in turning back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may Yahweh do to me, and more, if anything but death separates you and me.” Ruth 1:16-17 (LSB)