By Mallory Mattingly
Giants quarterback Jameis Winston won’t stop talking about his faith. It’s something he holds onto in the good and the bad times.
“Like faith is the first thing that you should hold on to, because faith is really the things that you believe in that you have not seen,” Winston shared on “This Past Weekend” with Theo Von in 2024.
“Like, typically, when you experience pain, it’s something that you have experienced. You’ve seen it. It’s happened to you. And I think that’s why I’m always in this position, because my faith allows me to hope for more, to want more, right?” he continued. “And like, dig in even deeper, you know, like when you think of a seed, right? If I look at a seed, like, let’s do it. Let’s do an acorn. As you look at an acorn, it’s a season. Good seed, too. An acorn is turning into an oak tree.”
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Winston explained that in order for the acorn to turn into an oak tree, the seed needs to be broken first so it can then be rooted in the ground.
“So before it sprouts up, it has to go down into the earth and establish a foundation. So when you think about challenges, right, it’s the Lord telling you, like, ‘Hey man, you’re gonna have to have a shift. You’ve got to get rooted in a real foundation, which is me,’ right? Which is the Lord Jesus. That’s your foundation,” the quarterback emphasized.
“And before you can grow up, you’re gonna have some little seedlings, like, you’re gonna have a little crack in there. You might have a little bird trying to come and snatch you out, yeah?” he continued. “But through that trial, you’re gonna be able to turn into this beautiful oak tree, and you’re gonna be able to be fruitful and give to others through your testimony, through your experiences. When you view it from that perspective now, that fear isn’t as frightening.”
Along with his faith, Winston stays grateful.
“When you don’t necessarily get what your heart desires, you revert back to what you’re grateful for, and I’m grateful for the people that God strategically put into my life to allow me to get to where I am now,” he explained on the “Sports Spectrum” podcast.
“Sometimes, like, I will say, you know, I want to win that Super Bowl. But my Super Bowl is knowing that I made my Aunt Vonda proud. You know, knowing that I made my little brother a follower of Christ because the way that I walk,” the athlete continued. “You know, my Super Bowl could be knowing that me and my boys are gonna have a great relationship for the rest of their life.”
“So when dealing with disappointment again, you find that seed of good in everything, right? Because that decision, the power’s in the decision. So if you decide to focus on what you didn’t do, you got to be grateful for what was given to you,” Winston declared.
What a powerful reminder that God is using the hard times in our lives to establish a firm foundation that will eventually flourish into a source of encouragement for others.
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