Toronto Raptors center Trey Jemison began his 100 days of Bible studies with a word on being in alignment with God.
“Last week, God talked to me about being aligned, and a lot of times when God tells me things, it’s either ‘Hey, obey and trust me,’ or ‘I’ll give you the wisdom to do what I’m telling you to do,’” Jemison said in a video shared on Instagram. “And this time, He gave me the wisdom to be more aligned, and this week we’ll focus on being in control. I prayed all week about it. I’ve been focused on it and about having control over myself.”
The verse Jemison focused on was 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5, which reads, “For this is God’s will for sanctification that you keep away from sexual morality? That each of you knows how to control his own body and holiness and armor, not with lustful passions like the Gentiles who don’t know God.”
“…a lot of people have these passions and these urges where they lose track of where it’s supposed to be. It might be frustration. It might be, let’s say your anger. It might be how you spend money, how you spend your time. It might be maybe your thoughts. But God was telling me, ‘Hey Trey, if you want to be aligned, I need you in control of those things,'” Jemison reflected.
During an early morning drive to Nashville, which was about 10 hours, God gave the athlete an example of how a lack of control derails His plans.
“If you stop at every comic bookstore along the way, it’s going to take you so long to get to Nashville, ’cause you’re always going out the exit, you’re always leaving the route, you’re always doing your own thing and stopping and wasting money and wasting time and what could have took 10 hours is now taking two weeks because you’re stopping everywhere,” Jemison described what God said to him.
Related: Knicks’ Trey Jemison Shares Faith Lesson Ahead of NBA Cup Final
But “if you just focus on the drive there and just go where I’m taking you, you’ll get there right on time.”
That was exactly what Jemison needed to hear.
“I was praying. ‘God, help me understand control.’ And God was saying, ‘If your passions and your urges and your mind always move you, you’re not in control.’ And again, I was like, ‘God, but it can be hard sometimes because my flesh, my flesh, my flesh.’ And God just reminded me that I’m in control over my flesh. But I have to take control of it by submitting to God’s will,” he explained.
Submitting to God’s will isn’t easy, but it also isn’t just up to you.
“God is saying, ‘I need you to try hard enough that once you get it, once you start trying to get control, I’ll help you out and get it in the center.’ That once you start chasing God, it might feel difficult, but watch how God comes in and He helps you along the way,” the center emphasized.
Jemison frames staying “in control” not as self-discipline but as steady submission to God’s direction, trusting that the effort to align himself will be met with God’s help along the way.
Read Next: Knicks’ Trey Jemison Wins NBA Cup Finals, Gives Glory to God
Questions or comments? Please write to us here.
