New Orleans Saints running back, Alvin Kamara, has been truly impressive during his first three seasons in the NFL – rushing for over 2,400 yards while averaging five yards per carry.

He’s a 3x Pro Bowl running back and his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield makes him even more dangerous and versatile. He already has 243 receptions for 2,068 yards, and when you throw in 37 total career touchdowns and almost 800 return yards, you realize what a dynamic player he is.

As eye-catching as all of those stats are, and as amazing as his highlights on the field appear, what he does for his workouts might be the most mind-blowing things we’ve seen him do.

Have you watched the videos he puts out? Recently he showed off his core strength and balance by staying upright while holding a barbell on his shoulders with kettlebells tied to both sides.

Apparently, this exercise helps develop core stability which allows him to remain steady on the football field. Here is the video: Watch

Last year, he also put out an amazing video that shows him standing on a medicine ball (yes, the kind that is even hard to sit on) while catching two three-pronged objects based on the color his trainer calls out to him as he’s throwing it. You can watch it here: Crazy Video

The concentration and coordination required to do that are unbelievable, but it really comes down to his ability to remain balanced on two feet while standing on the medicine ball. As soon as he gets off-balanced, he’s going to fall.

Karmara’s training strategy clearly helps him stay on his feet on the football field, and remain as one of the top running backs in the league.

Having balance is important in life, as well, but we can easily lose our concentration and become one-sided. If we spend too much time working, our time with family and friends takes a hit. If we become too focused on our kids, our spouse may feel neglected.

Our lives can become unbalanced by being extremely busy and not getting enough rest and relaxation…or becoming so lazy that we’re not living up to our responsibilities and serving others as we should.

If we aren’t careful, being unbalanced can also affect our spiritual lives. We might begin to overemphasize some principles of the Bible at the expense of others. Faith, grace, and obedience are all extremely important, but we’re encouraged not to have one without the other.

James 2:14-17 (NLT) asks, “What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, ‘Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well’—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.”

Just like faith and good works go together, we must not get unbalanced when it comes to grace and obedience.

Romans 6:1-2 (NLT) says, “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?”

We have to be careful not to be so caught up in obedience or good works that we forget about grace. Galatians 2:21 (NLT) reminds us, ”I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.”

Just like Kamara practices being balanced, let’s make intentional changes to improve the balance in our own lives. Today, let’s choose to enjoy all that God invites us into as we practice faith, grace, and obedience.

I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, please show me the areas of my life that are unbalanced and the changes I need to make. Help me to live with grace, faith, and obedience. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.