Heart Attack

I was doing some work at home this afternoon. At the same time I was following a tennis match between Roger Federer (no 1) and Janko Tipsarevic (no 49).

Federer wasn't playing his usual best. He made many unforced errors. Janko, on the other hand, was playing very confidently. As a result it was a thrilling 5 sets lasting almost 4 1/2 hours.

The fifth set was especially gripping. It was a very very close match. Federer was playing a catch up throughout the fifth set. As I am Federer's fan this resulted me in having some HEART ATTACK following the progress of the match. Believe it or not I took the trouble to pray for Federer. :)

I must take my hat off to Federer. He was very strong mentally. The pressure of the possibility of losing the match so early in the tournament he won several times before must have been great on him. (Last year he didn't even drop a set in the same tournament) But he kept at it. He didn't give up. He kept pressing on despite of not playing his best. At the end the breakthrough came and he won the match.

One lesson I learnt from Federer is the importance of mental strength. At times the difference between a champion and an average player is not necessarily skill but mental strength.

Similarly, as Christ followers we do need to develop mental toughness. Our foundation of the Word must be strong. Our character must be maturing. Our mind must be filled with hope and faifh-filled thoughts. After all, we are playing against a very competitive competitor everyday of our life. And at times, that mental toughness is difference between winning and losing.