Born for Gold

The buzzer sounds. 
Shocked by its piercing volume you stumble out; the frigid air smacking your face so hard it makes you wince. You shake it off, suck in a deep breath and brace yourself for what’s about to happen.  
You push off. Images race past faster than you can focus. Faces, posts, moving ground, colors. It’s too much to take in. Your mind races with possibility and the screaming questions, “Am I ready?” “Was my training enough?” “What will my hair look like when I step onto the medal platform?”

You move ahead, your muscles straining under the weight. Your form, flawless. Around the bend and into the straightaway you fly, being mindful that wipe outs are extremely common in this stretch. Your supreme conditioning and extraordinary skill are kicking in now and before you, just as shocking as the start, the goal! One final burst… to the finish.

You know this is what you were born to do.

And as you stand there waiting, you lift your head, draw a final breath, look in the mirror and say, I’m ready to take a shower and start this day.

Normal life can feel like an Olympic sport.

Here are some good encouragements to stay in the race:

1 Corinthians 9:24 

 You've all been to the stadium and seen the athletes’ race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You're after one that's gold eternally.

 Hebrews 12 ^1-3       Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!

Let’s go for the gold, my friends.