Former Western Michigan quarterback Jon Wassink lived an up-and-down life during his career. During his freshman year in 2015, he redshirted. “Those years were definitely tough,” Wassink says. “It’s hard not getting to be out on the field. But it was part of the journey, and I got great joy out of those years as well. I learned a lot, and those first two years were just as important to me as the last three, for sure.” His patience and preparation paid off when he was named the starter. Like many athletes, he suffered several serious injuries before finishing his football career by being selected as the Wuerffel Trophy recipient. More impressive than his football career might be his involvement with six organizations and his attendance in grad school while starting as a quarterback. “It all stems from my faith in Christ,” Wassink said. “I truly believe God has given me everything I have, so instead of me being selfish and owning everything, I have more of a mentality of, ‘I want to give it back,’ because He has given me everything.”

1 Samuel 21-22 – Repentant Faith

David is a hero of the faith, with parts of his life foreshadowing Christ. However, he was still a sinful human with many ups and downs. David fled into exile because Saul wanted to kill him. His many decisions showed his lack of faith that God would protect him and deliver on God’s promises to put him into power. David’s actions even led to Ahimelech and eighty-five other priests being murdered by Saul for helping him.

David would sin many times during his life, but he always repented and returned to the Lord. God always took him back and even included him in Hebrews 11 with the many heroes of the faith—men and women who demonstrated faithfulness to Him throughout their lives. David was a hero of the faith because of his example of repentance, which we should all imitate.

The Kingdom Coach and Athlete quickly acknowledge their sin and repent from it. Repentance in the Bible means “the act of changing one’s mind.” Biblical repentance goes beyond regret or just feeling bad about one’s sin. Eerdmans Bible Dictionary defines repentance: “In its fullest sense, it is a term for a complete change of orientation involving a judgment upon the past and deliberate redirection for the future.”

Bible Memory Verse – “Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed from the land those who were mediums and spiritists. 1 Samuel 28:3 (LSB)