I had the chance to watch the 2010 Winter Olympic this year and was amazed to see how prepared all the athletes were for the winter games. The athletes’ preparation prepared them for the real thing: the competition.
As I sat and watched the games, I compared the athletes’ preparation for their competition to that of Christians and their preparation of an eternal life with Christ. Do we as Christians put this much effort into getting prepared to face everyday challenges? These athletes spent hours engaged in deep thoughts, personal private time preparing themselves for the competition. I can only imagine what was going through their minds. Were they thinking about how they would attack their opponents? Are they in deep thought about how rewarding it would feel to win the competition or how proud their family, coach, and teammates would be of their accomplishments. To win the gold would be heavenly. These thoughts and reactions are common practices for athletes because they have mentally prepared themselves for this moment. My question to you today is this, are you preparing yourself mentally to meet Jesus? Are you preparing yourself to excel as a follower of Christ? Do you spend quiet time with Him? Do you study the word so you can get to know him better? Everyday we should be preparing ourselves to meet Jesus: the eternal reward. Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochetta lost her mother doing the event, but she did not let her mother’s death stop her from performing. Do we stop praising Him when challenges come into our lives? It is time for us to look beyond the challenges of this life and to allow God to create in us an eternal perspective. Let our eyes be on the prize, (Jesus) the gold medal just like the athletes at the 2010 Winter Olympic.
God wants our best. He wants us to start each day off with Him. He wants our best work, our best time, and our best effort. In all your trouble, seek God and honor Him, even in the thoughts that no one can hear and deep feelings of the heart that no one can know except God. “You will seek me an find me When you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13)
