Olympic Gold

Scripture: He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly before your God. Micah 6:8

My children are involved in the local swim team. Wyatt, age 11, has been going twice a week off and on now since he was 6. Evan, age 8, has not been as dedicated, but has recently gained more interest and has been swimming regularly for the hot month of June. I feel that swimming is such a useful skill and am thrilled that they are both learning at such an early age.

I have noticed over the years though that gains are slow and at times you wonder if you should continue to invest in the program. Then all of a sudden, after months of what seems the same old thing, you will see your child jump out in front and set new times and gain new strengths. I sat watching each child in the meet yesterday realizing that all the parents must feel that same way. The funny thing is, I never see the coaches discouraged about performance. They are always talking about development and technique. They see the little details, the small nuances that change even when it seems the same to me.

I am so thankful that God as our coach is that way with us. He gets us going in our training and watches us as we flounder in our lack of experience, but he never gets discouraged with us. He knows that living a life of grace takes practice. After countless months and sometimes years of ‘practice’ we will make a giant gain and he stands back and smiles at our effort and where we came from. He knows that even the little gains are bringing us closer to winning the prize.

At times the small stuff seems so meaningless. I mean we get up and drag our families to church when we would many times rather stay in bed. We study and talk about the bible with friends and try to find truth, at times only left to wonder if it is all really important – or at least I do. These seem like such small attempts at holiness. But when I look at swimming alongside of my walk with Christ, I can see that in order to gain any skill we must not expect to get good overnight. We must practice technique. We must be dedicated to getting better. God sees our efforts. He knows our hearts, and most of all He sees our potential. God see us as Olympians. He knows that on our own we cannot even stay afloat, but with years of practice and dedication, and with Christ coaching us and encouraging us we can win races.

The Olympic Games are swiftly approaching. I am always enthralling by the stories behind the athletes. Many come from impoverished nations with little or no financial support. Some athletes battle overwhelming odds to stand as competitors. Others train tirelessly with everything at the fingertips and yet victory will slips through their fingers. All are elite athletes, worthy of the chance to stand on the podium and hear their national anthem played while they accept their gold medal. God does not require us to be the best, he only requires us to compete. We are all gold medallists in His eyes. Hallelujah! Keep training!

Leslie Stephens
Winchester, TN

Prayer: Almighty God help us to train hard and put all our confidence in you, our Coach. Thank you for seeing our potential in Christ, and for always encouraging us to reach higher. Help us to see the little things as areas in which we can make gains, and teach us to not give up! Amen.

Prayer Tip: Visualize prayer as time in the locker room with God. Let that time fire you up as you go out to face your race.

July 1, 2008