Full Throttle Faith: Racing Toward Destiny

I’m so stoked to be here with you all today. You know, I was watching this NASCAR race the other day, and it hit me—our journey with God is a lot like those drivers speeding around that track. We’re all in this race called life, pushing limits, making split-second decisions, and sometimes crashing into the walls when we take a turn too fast. But here’s the beautiful thing: God isn’t just watching from the stands—He’s your crew chief, your spotter, and the designer of your spiritual engine. He’s not some distant spectator checking in occasionally to see how you’re doing. No, He’s intimately involved in every lap, every turn, and every straightaway of your journey. He’s communicating with you through that spiritual headset, guiding you through the traffic of life’s complications.

When a NASCAR driver steps into that car, they’re putting complete trust in their team, in the engineering, in the thousands of hours of preparation. That’s faith in action, friends. Not blind faith—informed faith. They know the car was built with precision, that every bolt was tightened with purpose. Your faith should be the same way. It’s not about checking your brain at the door; it’s about understanding that the God who designed the universe has also designed a path for you. Think about this: before a driver ever hits that track for race day, they’ve spent countless hours studying it—every bank, every groove, every potential trouble spot. That’s what your spiritual journey should look like. Don’t just show up on Sundays; immerse yourself in understanding the track God has laid out before you through His Word, through prayer, through community.

The college years—man, they’re like those qualifying laps. You’re testing your speed, seeing what you’re made of, figuring out where you stand on the grid of life. Some of you are in the pole position, feeling confident. Others might be starting from the back, wondering if you’ll ever catch up. But here’s all you need to know: your starting position doesn’t determine your finishing position. In NASCAR and in life, champions often come from behind. Remember when Denny Hamlin started 38th at Pocono and still won the race? Or when Kyle Busch came back from a devastating injury to win the championship? Your setbacks, your struggles, your seemingly disadvantaged starting position—none of that has to define your finish line. God specializes in comeback stories.

Think about those pit stops during a race. They’re brief but crucial moments that can make or break a driver’s chances. Those are your moments of reflection, your times of prayer, your seasons of recalibration. In a world that glorifies constant motion, never forget the power of strategic stops. The best drivers know when to push the pedal to the floor, but they also know when to come in for fresh tires and fuel. Your spiritual journey needs those pit stops too. Some of you are running on spiritual fumes right now, wondering why your faith feels so weak, why your direction seems so unclear. Could it be that you’ve been avoiding the pit stop? That you’ve convinced yourself you don’t have time to refuel through prayer, through Scripture, through authentic community? The irony is that the busier you are, the more you need those strategic stops.

Have you ever noticed how NASCAR drivers draft behind each other? They literally use the momentum of the car in front to pull them forward. That’s community, friends! That’s why we gather like this. We weren’t meant to race alone. We need each other’s slipstream to help us conserve energy and move faster toward our God-given potential. If you’re trying to navigate college without authentic community, you’re making the race so much harder than it needs to be. In racing, they call it “dirty air” when you’re stuck behind multiple cars but not close enough to benefit from any of their drafts. Some of you are living in spiritual dirty air—surrounded by people but not truly connected to anyone who’s helping you move forward. It’s time to find your drafting partners, the people who are heading in the same direction, who share your values, who make you better just by being around them.

But let’s be real—crashes happen. Even the best drivers sometimes hit the wall. I’ve seen spectacular wrecks where cars flip multiple times, smoke billowing, metal crunching, and then—miraculously—the driver walks away. That’s because they’re protected by an invisible roll cage of engineering brilliance. Your failures, your mistakes, your “crashes” in life—they don’t have to be fatal to your purpose. God’s grace is that invisible protection that allows you to walk away from spiritual wrecks and get back in the race. And here’s what’s even more amazing: in NASCAR, after a crash, the entire team jumps into action, working feverishly to repair what’s damaged so the driver can get back out there. That’s what God does through His church—provides the community, the resources, the expertise to help you rebuild after life’s inevitable collisions. Your crash isn’t the end of your story; it’s just a dramatic chapter in your testimony.

The most fascinating thing about NASCAR drivers is their focus. At 200 miles per hour, they can’t afford to be distracted. One moment of divided attention can send them spinning into the infield. Our culture is designed to fragment your focus—social media, career pressure, relationship drama, identity questions—it’s all competing for your mental bandwidth. But champions know that attention is their most valuable resource. What you consistently focus on is ultimately what you’ll move toward. Dale Earnhardt Jr. once said that at those high speeds, you have to look far ahead on the track, not just at what’s immediately in front of you. If you only focus on the present moment, you’ll never anticipate the challenges coming your way. That’s prophetic vision, friends! That’s seeing beyond your current circumstances to the future God is preparing for you. Where are you fixing your gaze?

You know those NASCAR victory celebrations? The burnouts, the fist pumps, the climbing of the fence? That pure, unfiltered joy? That’s what awaits you when you align your life with your Creator’s intentions. Joy isn’t found in perfect circumstances; it’s found in perfect alignment. Some of you are seeking happiness in achievement, relationships, or experiences, but true joy comes from knowing you’re exactly where God designed you to be, doing exactly what He designed you to do. I love watching those victory lane celebrations because there’s something so authentic about them. These drivers have pushed through extreme physical conditions, mental pressure, and strategic challenges—and when they win, all that emotion comes pouring out. God wants your spiritual journey to culminate in that kind of uninhibited joy. Not the muted, respectable happiness our culture often settles for, but the kind of joy that makes you want to do burnouts in the infield of your life.

Let me tell you something about those NASCAR engines—they’re built for both power and endurance. They need to generate incredible force but also last for hundreds of miles. Your spiritual life needs that same balance. I meet so many college students who are either all passion with no staying power, or all discipline with no fire. You need both! You need convictions that get you fired up and practices that keep you in the race when motivation fades. Those engines go through rigorous testing before they ever hit the track. They’re pushed to their limits in controlled environments to ensure they won’t fail during the actual race. Your faith needs that same kind of intentional development. It needs to be tested, refined, and strengthened before life’s biggest challenges come your way. Are you preparing your spiritual engine for the long haul, or are you just hoping it holds together when the pressure builds?

The NASCAR community is incredibly tight-knit. Competitors on the track become family in the garage. They understand something profound—that shared purpose creates deeper bonds than shared interests ever could. That’s all you need to know about finding your people in college. Don’t just look for friends who like the same music or share your major. Find the ones who are racing toward the same ultimate purpose, even if your immediate paths look different. In NASCAR, you’ll see drivers from different teams owned by the same racing organization sharing information, helping each other improve. They compete fiercely but understand they’re part of something bigger than their individual success. That’s the kingdom mindset! Understanding that we can celebrate each other’s victories because ultimately, we’re not racing for our own glory but for God’s.

I love how in NASCAR, the finish line is really just the beginning of the next race. The season is a series of challenges, each building on the last. Your spiritual journey isn’t about arriving at some final destination in this lifetime; it’s about becoming more like Christ with each lap around the sun. College isn’t your final race—it’s just one important segment of the larger championship series that is your life. Just like NASCAR has different types of tracks—short tracks, superspeedways, road courses—your journey will take you through different seasons that require different skills. The approach that worked in high school might not work in college. The strategy that serves you in college might need adjustment in your career. But the God who designed you knows exactly how to equip you for each track you’ll face.

Have you ever watched a NASCAR race in the rain? It completely transforms the dynamics. Suddenly, the predictable becomes unpredictable. Visibility decreases. Traction becomes uncertain. The drivers who excel are the ones who can adapt, who can feel the changing conditions and adjust their approach accordingly. Life throws those rainstorms at us too—unexpected diagnoses, relationship breakdowns, financial crises, identity struggles. The question isn’t whether the rain will come; it’s whether you’ve developed the spiritual adaptability to navigate through it. Jesus never promised His followers clear skies and dry tracks. In fact, He guaranteed storms. But He also promised His presence in the midst of them. That’s why preparation is so crucial—not just for the races you expect, but for the conditions you don’t.

Think about the spotters in NASCAR—those eyes in the sky who see the whole track and communicate constantly with the driver. They see dangers before the driver can, they identify opportunities in the traffic patterns, they guide the driver through the chaos of a 40-car field. That’s what the Holy Spirit does in your life. While you’re focused on the immediate challenges in front of you, He sees the bigger picture. He knows what’s developing three turns ahead. Are you listening to His voice? Are you tuned in to that spiritual frequency? Or is your channel filled with so much static—anxiety, comparison, distraction—that you can’t hear His guidance? The most successful drivers are the ones who trust their spotters implicitly, who respond immediately to their instructions. Your relationship with the Holy Spirit should look the same way.

The engineering behind NASCAR is mind-blowing. Teams spend millions of dollars and countless hours finding tiny aerodynamic advantages, shaving off milliseconds with more efficient fuel systems, developing tires that provide just a bit more grip in the corners. They understand that championships aren’t won by giant leaps but by consistent, minuscule improvements. Your spiritual growth works the same way. It’s rarely about dramatic overnight transformations. It’s about the accumulated effect of small, daily choices—choosing patience when you’d rather snap back, choosing generosity when you’d rather keep for yourself, choosing truth when a lie would be more convenient. Don’t despise these small moments of choice. They’re the aerodynamic tweaks that, over time, completely transform your spiritual performance.

So as we close today, ask yourself: What’s controlling your steering wheel? What’s powering your engine? Who’s on your pit crew? The answers to these questions will determine your trajectory far more than your circumstances ever will. Like those NASCAR drivers who strap in and commit everything to the race before them, it’s time for you to go full throttle in pursuit of the life God has designed you to live. The green flag is waving. The race is on. And friends, with God as your crew chief, you’re built for victory. But remember this: in NASCAR, a driver doesn’t just suddenly find themselves in victory lane. They put in thousands of hours of unseen preparation. They endure countless setbacks. They learn from every defeat. And most importantly, they never stop believing that the checkered flag is possible, even when the odds are stacked against them. Your spiritual journey requires that same resilient hope—not a flimsy wishful thinking, but a robust confidence that the God who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it. So strap in, lean into the turn, and don’t you dare lift off the throttle. The greatest race of your life is happening right now, and God is calling you to drive with everything you’ve got.

Pastor Mitchell Royel