I had to show God that I meant it.
When I was in college, I came to grips with the fact that I still idolized soccer, a sport that I played throughout my childhood.
Playing soccer from the age of eight to 18 was a big esteem booster for me. I was a serious player, and the game was instrumental in instilling great life lessons for me, namely knowing how to lose, and knowing how to win.
I knew in college that I still looked at soccer as a god for me, something that provided for me a great deal in establishing my identity as a competitive athlete.
So I felt convicted that I had to tear this idol down.
But renouncing soccer in my heart wasn’t enough. I had to show God that I meant it.
I had to show Him that I really wanted Him to be first, and soccer a distant second, or even a game that was no longer on the scoreboard of my heart.
So I took my favorite soccer bag and threw it in the river near my house. I also punted my soccer ball into the river.
I had to consider what I treasured, symbols of the game of soccer, as nothing better than pollution.
While I don’t aspire to give encouragement to pollution, I do agree that getting rid of my soccer valuables helped my faith to move into action and moved me to lean on God.
When you get rid of an idol, God has to replace that hole in your heart where the idol once dwelled.
On May 11, 2025, I heard a sermon on Exodus Two, one through 10, which tells the story of how Moses’ mother gave him up to show God that she trusted Him to take care of her three-month-old baby boy.
In Pharoah’s desire to get rid of all the Hebrew boy babies, he ordered them to be discarded into the Nile.
The sermon’s emphasis was “For we walk by faith, not by sight,” (2 Cor 5:7). In the sermon, I learned that God’s providence is always working in our lives.
He never leaves us or forsakes us. He is always there to help us during difficult times.
God wants us to live faith, breathe faith, exhibit faith.
Our pastor showed us that my faith moves me to action, my faith bought me front row seats to God’s work, and my faith will grow with practice.
My faith can carry me through difficult things because God will make a way for that faith to thrive.
My faith moves me to do something to prove my faith.
My faith shows me that God is working and moving and encourages me to “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God,” a quote by Corrie ten Boom.
And finally, my faith will grow as I take a step of faith and then another–and then another–and then another.
Moses’ mom just got a glimpse of what God was doing. She didn’t know that Moses would soon lead the Israelites through a parted sea away from the slavery and bondage of Egypt.
She just had hope that maybe Pharaoh’s daughter would have compassion on her child and rescue Him.
And God came through for her.
Do I miss my beloved soccer bag and ball? Definitely. Is it better for me that it is resting in the Vermillion River than displayed on my wall? Most definitely.
Because if I did display it on my wall, I would see it and long for the good ole days when soccer was king and I got to look like a champion.
Now, instead, God wants to be King of my heart and find my identity in His great love for me, something I am still trying to learn.
Moses’ mother gave up much more than a treasured soccer ball and bag. She gave up her very heart, her son.
I can’t imagine that kind of faith. She had to show God she meant it, that she had faith in Him.
And He did wondrous things with her faith. Moses became the leader of the Israelites.
–Ann Elizabeth Yeager