Wrestler Turned to This Verse After Third-Place Finish: ‘Seeking First the Lord’

Published: June 11, 2025

wrestle, wrestler — Photo by An Vuong via Pexels

By Mallory Mattingly

God spoke to Cal State Bakersfield wrestler A.J. Ferrari in a special way before he finished in third place at the NCAA Tournament.

“It was just ‘Don’t feed your flesh,'” Ferrari told reporters of his mindset ahead of the match. “That’s what God told me. And I was in the bathroom by myself, crying last night and in pain from the match. It was like, man, I cut all this weight. I was up to midnight before I even started cutting weight.”

“And God told me, He said, ‘You have to learn from this. You have to get rid of your pride and your vanity. You have to stay humble. You have to remember that this is not what matters. What matters is seeking first the Lord and seeking His kingdom.’ So, I’m answering with Proverbs 3:5. It’s the verse that I said to myself as I walked out here.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 reads, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

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“You know, that was the key for me. Don’t trust in myself, trust in the Lord. And I got to walk in that Holy Spirit, not in my flesh. Get rid of the flesh. And that’s the key,” Ferrari declared.

As the championship match concluded, reporters thought the building would empty ahead of the third-place match, but fans stayed to watch Ferrari wrestle. Ferrari believes God put that desire on peoples’ hearts so He would be glorified.

“Even if I lost today, old A.J. is in the past; my flesh is dead,” the athlete continued. “That cannot go into God’s kingdom. So I’m just grateful for all the love, all the support, all the family, all the friends, you know, all glory to God, Jesus is King. He’s gonna be back soon, and I’m going to keep worshiping Him, and God’s going to keep giving me the glory because I live that life and I have made a change.”

Ferrari recently entered the transfer portal and decided to commit to the University of Nebraska. Through his time at Cal State Bakersfield, Ferrari learned a lot, but one thing stuck out to him above the rest.

“Ultimately, the biggest thing I’ve learned this year is that in life and in wrestling, it isn’t about always winning. Because what’s more important…What we accomplish🏆 and acquire or who we become⁉️ In life, the real reward isn’t Championships and things on earth – it’s Salvation and Eternity in God’s Kingdom (Heaven),” he wrote in a post on Instagram.