In the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Derek Redmond of Great Britain was considered a favorite contender for a medal. It was the evening of August 3, 1992 as Redmond was pitted against seven others in a semi-final in the 400 meters. Redmond knelt poised, waiting for the race to start. As the gun went off, his body was translated into a human locomotive, feverishly charging against the other runners. As Redmond prepared to round the curve after the halfway mark, however, he suddenly heard a pop. It was his right hamstring. Redmond soon found himself trapped by the searing pain of his leg.
The other runners finished the race as he desperately continued his painful trek to the finish line.
Derek saw his olympic medal dreams shattered.... the finish line seemed miles away... each step hurting more and more... He knew he shouldn’t quit... but the pain... That searing pain. You can only imagine what must have gone through his mind.
“They would all understand if I just quit.”
“Nobody would blame me if I tapped out.”
“When will this pain stop?”
“Has anybody ever hurt this badly?”
Have you thought any of those things? I have.
You’ve been through so much: A painful divorce. A bitter family fight. Bankruptcy, failure, a diagnosis that wasn’t expected. You’ve been told you can’t have children and it hurts. You’ve been told by your children that you’ve been a rotten parent. You’ve been called loser. You’ve been rejected. You’ve been knocked down...pushed aside...picked over...kicked down by life... and left with shreds of your dream where the whole picture used to be.
The world is watching you down on the track. Writhing in pain.... looking skyward and wondering why God would allow this to happen.
But your story (and Derek’s) isn’t over.
Derek waved off the stretchers for as long as he could... the burning in his legs intensified to an unbearable level... it looked as though he was done.
From the stands, his father had been watching. He pushed his way past security guards to meet his son on the track. He then reached his weeping son. “Look, you don’t have to do this.”
Redmond then replied: “Yes I do.”
His father then said: “Well, if you’re going to finish this race, we’ll finish it together.”
Can’t you just picture it. Derek’s father lifting his son’s tired body up to full standing position... bearing the weight of both his child’s muscle and the heavy disappointment in each fiber of it. The father was not going to let his child quit.
You are God’s child.
“Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.” Ephesians 1:4-6
He’s not going to let you quit either.
“So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you." Deuteronomy 31:6
Your blessing is coming...
“So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up.” Galatians 6:9
You are not defeated. The race is not over and you have not lost. God has not abandoned you and you are not alone. You are His... and God’s family doesn’t quit. You are so close to a breakthrough... within reach of the finish line... almost at the place where pain becomes gain.
God is right there to pick you up. Together you will both finish the race... just like Derek Redmond and his dad.
And finish it they did. Derek and his father agonizingly limped the final 394 feet together arm in arm. The sound of the crowd was deafening. Tears flowed. People screamed words of encouragement. And Derek Redmond finished the race...not as a last place finisher... but a persevering champion.
You are a champion too. God isn’t sitting in the stands idly watching you suffer. He’s right where you are. Those prayers you don’t think He hears... He has them memorized. That suffering... it isn’t in vain. Your heavenly Father is there carrying you when the weight of the world seems too much.
Don’t quit. Don’t give up. Hear that sound? That is the cheering of all that have run the race before you... Heavenly voices of believing relatives, friends, and family that have gone home before you... encouraging you as you finish the final 394 feet of whatever long race you find yourself in.
So many quit right before the victory. Be bold. You can do it. I’ll be in those stands cheering you on as you do.
