By Mallory Mattingly
Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac opened up about life as a Christian in the NBA.
“I came to the NBA thinking it would fulfill me, and I recognized that nobody is fulfilled,” he told Relevant Magazine.
Because basketball couldn’t fulfill him, he sought Christ.
“Turning to faith was where I felt peace and strength,” he shared. “What I started to see was the anxiety I was feeling start to subside. I started to connect to God, loving me for me. I didn’t have to score. I didn’t have to do anything for God to love me.”
Since Isaac began to take his walk with Christ seriously after joining the NBA, he prioritizes spiritual discipline as much as he does his basketball training.
Related: Jonathan Isaac Launches Basketball Shoe Line with Bible Verses: ‘Live Bold’
“Whenever I can get to church, I try my best to go throughout the season,” the athlete said. “If it’s a Bible study during the week, I’m going if I have the time because I need it to stay right. I need it to help me keep right. And I need it to help me get back right if I was in a place of falling.”
Ultimately, he no longer wants to be seen as “Jonathan Isaac the basketball player” but rather “want[s] my identity to be in Christ.”
In fact, his faith inspired his Jesus-centered clothing brand called UNITUS, “a Christian footwear and apparel brand designed to help believers stay connected to Christ.”
At the beginning of September, UNITUS dropped the Judah 2, “Witness” shoe, which featured Hebrews 12:1. “This colorway is a reminder that God is bigger than your struggles,” a description of the shoe said.
“It’s an encouragement to throw off the lies, insecurities, and fears that hold you back and run with perseverance the race marked out for you,” a post on social media read.
His Bible-based shoes give him a spot in the history books, too. Isaac’s shoe, the Judah 1, became the first-ever scripture-inspired shoe to be displayed at the Museum of the Bible.
“Thank you’s all around to my family and the Unitus team, but first and foremost to Jesus! None of this exists if He doesn’t first give Himself for me and all of us!” Isaac wrote in a post on Instagram in August.
“It’s so much wrapped into one. It’s legacy, it’s the goodness of God,” he told the Christian Post of his shoe being on display. “You know, if Jesus doesn’t come back anytime soon, then my kids and my kids’ kids will always be able to come to the Museum of the Bible and remember their grandpa, great grandpa, and say, ‘Hey, our grandpa did something for the honor and the glory of God, not for himself, and that’s why it’s in the Museum of the Bible.'”
Being a pro athlete and putting Christ first isn’t easy. But Isaac knows that his faith is ultimately what matters most.
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