Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield didn’t feel worthy until he realized he was “loved by God.”
“I believed but wasn’t truly walking the walk,” the quarterback said, per Relevant Magazine.
Mayfield grew up in a house that went to church twice a year. He believed in God, but his life did not reflect that. It wasn’t until he had a “little bit of a crash and burn at Oklahoma” that he truly changed his life.
“I made some mistakes and built a relationship with a pastor at a local church; he saw something in me that he could relate to,” Mayfield recalled. “No matter what you present on the outside, everybody’s going through something. You don’t have to have it all figured out, and we’re not made to be perfect. And so you’re loved no matter what.”
Related: Bucs QB Hit ‘Rock Bottom’ Before Turning to the Lord
“Now I can look back and smile and know that God got me out of a messy situation that I was trying to do too much,” he continued. “It wasn’t the path. I was trying to create my own destiny there, but it wasn’t right for me. It wasn’t the one that He chose. There’s always hope, no matter good or bad times. He has a plan for you; you have to trust in that and have faith. There is light at the end of the tunnel, and He’s got you.”
“Truly, used to say, quality time, sitting around, being at peace. But understanding that I am loved by God, and I do have a Lord and Savior, and that’s the one thing that saved me,” Mayfield added.
Mayfield takes every opportunity he can to talk about his faith. In one interview, the quarterback shared what he would say if a teammate asked him who Jesus is.
“Jesus is, obviously, the Son of God but is grace, is perfection, is someone that sacrificed everything, that gave us this opportunity to live life,” Mayfield told Sports Spectrum. “For me, when you say He’s your Lord and Savior, you proclaim it whenever you can. He’s the reason we’re here.”
“And the story of Jesus, walking among the flesh, the only perfect man and to be sacrificed on the cross [where He] died for our sins, forever. When you accept that grace, it’s an unbelievable feeling,” the athlete declared. “And then you dive into the word and you see stories and the scripture backs up what [it’s] saying. Whatever you go through, there’s always scripture that can help you out, and it’s been written. It’s the truth.”
Mayfield tells more of his story in Netflix’s Season 3 of QUARTERBACKS, which debuted July 14.
“This will be an inside look at the good, the bad, the ugly, just really the endurance of a season,” he said of the show. “The physical toll, the mental toll of it, how long it is, how many people it really takes. You see the game on Sundays, but just the preparation, the people that help you get there and just that process and how important some of the things are to you throughout the year, whether it’s going good or bad.”
Through overcoming personal struggles and embracing his faith, Mayfield found true purpose and self-worth by realizing he is loved by God.
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