Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Muhammad Ali is one of the best boxers ever to grace the ring. He was lighter than most heavy weights and never possessed the power to knock anyone out with just one punch. His confidence annoyed some, his brass irritated others. His loud and seemly rude expression just got under people’s skin.

Whether you like him or not, there is no doubt that he was a competitor. Ali never entered the ring unequipped to compete. He was always prepared to fight his fight, to go the distance.

Michael Jordan, arguably the best player to ever play the game of basketball was cut for his high school team his sophomore year. An experience that proved to be the best thing that had ever happened to him and his basketball legacy.

These two iconic figures share several things, their desire to compete and their mental toughness.

Ali and Jordan both did most of their competing outside the arenas. Their ability to get inside the head of their opponents catapulted them to the threshold of victory prior to stepping into the ring or on the court. Ali and Jordan worked on their footwork, line of sight and how to use their hands to throw a punch or shoot a trey.

The reality is simply they worked on perfecting their tools to empower them to be able to compete at such a high level.

When the dream team was assembled, the world of Olympic basketball knew they were in trouble. This was not because of an assembly of twelve talented athletes. The domination was the result of an assembly of twelve talented, mentally tough competitors who understood their tools, traits, roles and responsibilities with a common thread that losing was unacceptable. Putting egos aside they cruised to the gold medal and restored the United States to basketball supremacy.

The apostle Paul informs us that our weapons of warfare are not carnal but are mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds, casting down imaginations.

Do we have the mindset and mental toughness to compete? What type of shape is our mind in?

We can be physically tough but if our minds are not healthy and in shape to go the distance, we’ll get knocked out from a jab.

In the Kingdom of God, we cannot accept losing. Winning should be the only thing on our minds. We need to prepare and empower our minds with the Word of God.

Let’s put aside our egos, let’s team up and invoke the domination that God gave us in the beginning to winning lost souls, defeating sicknesses and illness.

To restore the Kingdom of God in our families and communities to its rightful place… SUPREMACY.

Are you mentally healthy enough to compete? Let’s do it.

Rev. Demetrius Moffett is Senior Pastor of Orange Church of God-Embassy of Grace, 1911 North 16th Street in Orange.