Written By: Nina Coons | West Coast Girls Coordinator

Have you ever had a sick wave — where a turn felt amazing or you got a solid barrel — so you hop on Surfline Rewind to watch it back, only to realize that the “sick turn” was an awkward squirm, and the “barrel” was more like a chest-high head dip? Yeah, ruins the vibe.

Often, your performance can dictate how much you enjoy surfing. You catch yourself thinking, “I bogged that turn,” or “my style looks so goofy.” That performance-focused mindset can also be evident in our faith.

We start focusing on our shortcomings: “I’m not good enough to be close to God” or “I’ve made too many mistakes — and I’ll probably keep making them.” These thoughts distract us from the finished work of the gospel.

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

When we focus on our performance, we don’t allow ourselves to be transformed by Jesus. Our job is simply to know Christ. The more time we spend being with God — rather than worrying about what we can do for God — the more Jesus begins to transform us into His likeness.

Hebrews 12:2 says, “Looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…”

Scene:

But this time, it’s years from now. You’ve stopped obsessing over your performance and fallen in love with surfing again. You go all the time — it’s what you look forward to every day.

Finally, someone comes up to you and says, “Wow, dude! You’ve gotten so good! How did you do it?”

And you just smile and reply, “I don’t know… I just really love surfing. I go every day.”

You get the parallel, right?

The more time you spend with Jesus — simply loving Him — the better the “performance” gets. Better fruit. Less sin. Godly relationships. All the things we desire are the outcome of just spending time with Jesus, focusing on how much we love Him, not ourselves.