Las Vegas Update from Kody Lostroh |
| Posted by Bill Orf (billorf) on Nov 21 2007 at 11:21 PM |
Well, the World Finals is over and boy I’m glad to be home! It was fun to be riding at the finals, but two weeks in Vegas is too long for me. The riding went well there, and it was very exciting to be a part of.
While I was out in Vegas riding at the Super Bowl of bullriding, God took something that has been in-graved in my thinking for my whole life, and changed it. At first it didn’t seem like a very big change, but through the weeks out there, I began to see that this change was a significant one. What I’m talking about is my motivation for riding bulls and competing, while still keeping my focus on God, not just winning. Let me explain some more.
All my life I thought the goal of doing anything; riding bulls, school, sports, or anything else, was to win first. Every time I did anything, it was to come out on top. And it’s not just me who had this mentality. Look at our culture. Everything is so performance driven. Everyone and everything is striving to be number one. Why? We’ve been convinced that if you’re not first, you’re last. And it a lie! We live in a world that measures your worth by how much you win, or how much money your make, or how good you did in school. How much does God think your worth? Luke 12: 6-7 says; “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” The first time I read that I thought, “great, I’m worth more than a sparrow, whoopee.” Here’s the thing, God is telling us here that He has great concern for even the smallest things in life like common sparrows and even the very hairs on our heads. If He puts that much concern into the smallest details of life, how much more does he care for us!?
Our worth is not determined by how well we do something, or how popular we are, or how much money we make. We are Gods children and He put gifts and talents in us for a reason, even if we may not see that reason right now. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55: 9) What God showed me at the finals, is that I have, to a degree, been trying to win at bullriding so I feel like I’m worth something. To prove myself to somebody. God gave me a gift and talent to ride bulls, but I was trying to put my worth in that gift. And to be honest, it gets exhausting trying to always win. God told me this, quit trying to win first place, forget about it. Trust in the ability I’ve given you to ride. This gift I’ve given you has a much greater cause than winning titles and buckles. This gift is for the kingdom of God and you are in charge of it. Use it whole hearted and mightily for God.
Wow! Talk about motivation that doesn’t wear out! It totally changed the way I thought about not only riding, but in everything I do. Even if I can’t see how God is using it for the kingdom right now, He is, and He has a plan.
So my closing thoughts are this; are we using the gifts and talents God gave us for ourselves, or are we using them for His kingdom. You see, He gave us certain abilities, put us in charge of them. But if we don’t use them how we were designed to, we get worn out, tired, and exhausted. Using those same things for what they were designed for brings joy, excitement…and life. Even if you can’t see what God could possibly be doing with something in your life, do it with all your heart and know that your worth isn’t in what the world sees…it’s in what God sees! Until next time, Trust Jesus!
Kody
