When playing a sport, focus is crucial, especially where a ball is involved. When keeping your eye on the ball, all your attention and focus are fixed on that object. The moment you look away, it becomes challenging to successfully achieve what you are trying to accomplish, whether it be kicking the ball or catching it, hitting it, etc, depending on the sport.
Based on the fast-paced nature and need for precise ball control, table tennis is often considered the sport that requires the most focus when using a ball, as players must react quickly to the ball’s trajectory and spin while maintaining a high level of concentration.
Baseball is another sport that uses complex hand-eye coordination, requires rapid decision-making and a need to track a fast-moving ball with precision, where focus on the ball is vital. Pitchers can throw a variety of pitches with different speeds and breaking motions, demanding intense focus from the hitter to track the ball’s trajectory while players in the field must react quickly to batted balls, often requiring them to anticipate where the ball will land and make split-second decisions. It’s a mental game, and baseball heavily emphasizes the mental aspect, with players needing to manage pressure situations and stay focused even when facing adversity.
There are of course several other sports where this is the case, as well as sports that don’t require a ball, but internal focus is a necessity and can be mentally challenging.
The world, in general, can be quite distracting, and it can be easy to get caught up in it to where our focus is affected. Getting back on track and regaining our focus is a constant task that we must accomplish. Our “ball” is the Kingdom of God; something that we must never lose sight of, and our mental and spiritual strengthening is through God in whom we must always look to when trials, struggles, doubts, worries, uncertainties, and need for ANY help are affecting us in some way.
Keeping our eye on the prize is something that Paul famously depicted in Philippians 3:14, using the imagery of a race where the goal is the prize and the runner must concentrate on reaching the finish line, signifying the importance of staying focused on our ultimate goal, not giving up, despite challenges we encounter along the way.
We are to continue running with determination, “to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2; New International Version). This encourages us to focus on Christ at all times and not get distracted by other things, for Christ, the captain of our salvation, overcame every difficulty imaginable and was thus made perfect through sufferings (Hebrews 2:10). He expects us to do the same—to overcome all obstacles, to remain faithful and obedient, and to keep our eye on the ultimate prize.