When Christians Get the Yips
How the Fear of Man keeps us down.
The yips.
The word itself can strike fear into the heart of even the greatest athlete. The yips is a phenomenon where a talented player forgets the basic fundamentals of their job. They know what to do. Their muscles know exactly what to do. Yet when they go to do it, there is a mental block. Something prevents them from executing.
I played baseball from the time I was four all the way through high school, and before the Lord called me into ministry, my goal was to play in college. Based on my best estimate, as an active player who played league ball, travel ball, fall ball, high school ball, and attended multiple camps, I have probably thrown a baseball between two and three million times.
In high school, I caught the yips. I played third base and had a rocket of an arm. I could make throws across the 103-foot diamond off my back foot. I had quick reflexes. On bunt plays, I could slide on my knees and throw the ball with pretty good accuracy. Yet I still caught the yips in the most embarrassing way.
In baseball there is a routine during warmups and after a strikeout where you throw the ball around the horn. The catcher throws to the third baseman, who throws to the second baseman, then to the shortstop, and finally back to the pitcher. On one occasion, I slipped up and threw the ball way out into right field. I was terrified from then on. Every time I caught the ball, fear washed over me.
Am I going to embarrass myself again?
As the fear grew, the problem got worse. Eventually I was lobbing the ball so softly just to avoid another mistake. It was absolutely embarrassing.
The year that happened, I never really got over it. I suffered a season-ending injury just a few games into the season, and after the break and rehab, the problem disappeared.
The problem was not skill, practice, or knowledge.
It came down to one word.
Fear.
I knew what to do. I knew how to do it. Fear of failure and fear of man took over.
Years later, I realized my problem never really went away.
I simply traded a leather ball for a leather Bible.
In the Christian life, many of us know exactly what we are called to do. We may have done it a thousand times. Yet fear still creeps in.
I’ve led people to Christ, preached hundreds of sermons, shared the gospel in thousands of conversations, read my Bible over and over, and spent years studying the Christian life.
None of that has made me immune to fear.
Even as a pastor, there are moments when I simply have to practice the fundamentals. Share the gospel. Disciple a new believer through a difficult subject. Preach a sermon I know will not be well received.
Then the thoughts begin.
“Just keep moving.”
“Don’t say that.”
“Just skip over that part.”
Fear has a way of making us forget what we already know.
In baseball and in our faith, the solution is remarkably similar. Get out of your head. Turn your eyes to what you are supposed to be looking at. Then do what you already know how to do.
When you realize that life is about more than the opinions of others, and that what ultimately matters is giving glory to God, you can escape that fear trap and simply obey.
If you have followed Christ for more than a few minutes, I promise you that a lack of knowledge is probably not what is keeping you from sharing your faith or discipling others. More often than not, the culprit is fear.
“The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.” Proverbs 29:25
Fear will always tell you to hold the ball.
Faith tells you to throw it.
Don’t let the yips steal the joy of simply playing the game God has called you to play.