Living For Christ / Guest Post by Caleb Wilson

I grew up always being involved in some sort of competitive sport. From a young age, I learned to take my value and stability from my athletic performance. I wasn’t a naturally gifted athlete when I was younger, so I worked hard to earn the approval of others and prove myself, yet with little success. I competed in cross country and track from sixth grade through high school, but it wasn’t until my junior year that I decided I really wanted to chase the opportunity of running in college. That was also when I stepped into triathlon. My dream was to run D1 for Liberty University. I didn’t realize it then, but that decision also became the moment I attached my entire identity to my performance.

Throughout my upperclassman years, I lived in a constant battle of identity and spiritual warfare. I always pushed myself too hard, ended up injured, and then spiraled into bitterness and resentment. Eventually, I stayed healthy long enough to become a decent runner, but I knew I wouldn’t be fast enough to run D1 at Liberty. Still, Liberty is where I wanted to be. When I learned about the LU Triathlon team, I decided I would try to race triathlon in college so I could still compete there. But even that decision was driven by the need to prove myself, and it kept me in constant inner turmoil.

During my senior year, I got injured again, this time right before conference, and couldn’t run in any championship meets. I vividly remember the night I was told I wasn’t cleared to compete. I told my dad that if I couldn’t race, compete, or run anymore, I didn’t care to live. My entire identity and joy came from performance. I made everything about me, what I could do, what I could achieve, not about others or about God. Even so, I still hoped to get healthy before college tryouts so I could walk on to the LU Triathlon team, but I spent that entire summer making no progress.

Later that summer, I went to a Christ in Youth (CIY) church camp with my youth group. There, the Lord confronted all the arrogance, ignorance, misunderstandings, and idolatry I had been holding onto. The camp focused on identity, relationship over religion, and committing to work for His Kingdom, not ours. I experienced some of the deepest conviction of my life. I had to decide whether I would obey God’s call to fully surrender, even if it meant never stepping foot on another racecourse again. I eventually said yes. I committed myself to discipline, devotion, and serving His Kingdom, even though I didn’t know what that would look like.

For the next two months, God refined me and held me to that commitment, proving it wasn’t just an emotional camp moment. Every day, I woke up choosing to be okay if I never competed again. When I arrived at Liberty in the fall, tryouts came, but I still wasn’t healthy enough to participate. It crushed me, but I remembered my commitment and told God I was at peace. I laid the entire dream at His feet: “If this is Your will, I’m done.”

Looking back, it reminds me of Abraham being asked to sacrifice Isaac. Right as Abraham lifted the knife, God called out, “Stop!” God tested Abraham’s obedience but never intended for Isaac to die. In a similar way, God asked me to lay down the sport completely. And right when I surrendered it for good, He said, “Stop.” I had learned what He wanted me to learn, and now He was ready to turn it into a blessing.

That blessing came through a call from Coach Heather Gollnick, who said she was willing to give me a chance. She let me do a swim time trial, since that was all I could still do, and then put me on the roster so I could start seeing the athletic trainers. I agreed, did the swim trial, began rehab, and slowly got healthy. As soon as I started healing, my athletic performance climbed to a level it had never reached before. I grew both as an athlete and as a person.

At Liberty, we have Spiritual Shepherds and Spiritual Leaders/Disciple Makers who help build the spiritual culture of the team. After everything God had done in me, my coach asked if I would serve as the next men’s spiritual leader. I felt conviction to say yes. My entire sophomore year became a journey of learning how to disciple others and help Christian boys become Godly men. I made mistakes along the way, but I continued to grow. I prayed boldly that God would use me in uncomfortable situations to shape the team for His glory, and He did.

Now I’m a junior on the LU Triathlon team, and God has used me in incredible ways. I don’t receive recognition for much of what I do, but I don’t need it. Seeing the growth in the guys I love is reward enough.

God wasn’t calling me to give up triathlon forever. He framed it that way because I needed my identity to shift completely. The sport still isn’t mine. It’s a gift God allows me to steward. My job is to use it fully for His purposes, knowing He would be completely righteous to take it away tomorrow, and I could live with that because I’m no longer living for myself.

As Christ-followers, we are placed where we are to do His work. Being an athlete is temporary. Serving His Kingdom is eternal. Since my identity shifted, I haven’t relaxed, I’ve redirected my energy, motivation, and drive toward Kingdom work with even greater intensity. Don’t fall into complacency. Don’t fall asleep spiritually. Don’t let the enemy dim your light or keep you from being fully devoted to Kingdom work. Be intense and intentional about your faith. Commit to God’s work with the same passion the disciples had, the passion that made them willing to die for what they believed. Pray that God would remove anything in you that is not of Him, and remember what Paul wrote in Philippians 1:
“He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”