If you watched the Sochi Olympics last winter, you might recall the women's super-g downhill skiing event. The race isn't memorable because a favorite finished first, rather it's memorable because of who didn't finish. A record 18 women either crashed or skied off the course not finishing the race. When that many skiers failed to finish, spectators and athletes started pointing fingers.
The Austrian coach who set the course received the most scrutiny, especially after two of his racers finished 1st and 3rd. Had he set similarly hard courses before? Probably. Had his team practiced on those hard courses? Probably. Were his racers more prepared for the difficult maneuvers required to finish? Probably. But should we fault him for preparing his team for victory?
When you get tripped up and fail in your own life, who do you blame? Depending on who you are, the onus could fall on many different people. Maybe it falls on your spouse or your kids or your coworkers. If you're a Christian, maybe the blame falls on God; He is the one who set your course after all.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith."(Hebrews 12:1, 2 NIV)
The course is marked out for us. If you belong to God, He is the one who drilled those gates into the snow. He set the hard turns, the fast and also agonizingly slow straightaways, and He even built some tricky jumps. But why would He set such a hard course? Could it be, that like the Austrian coach, He wants to prepare us for victory?
While ski coaches train their athletes to have balance, strength, endurance and technique, God trains us to be holy and righteous. He wants us to look more like Christ every day.
"For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son..." (Romans 8:29 NIV)
Olympic skiers spend hours in the gym lifting weights, running miles, and stretching muscles. Their bodies aren't naturally adept at turning at high speed while chattering over icy snow. It takes sweating, straining, pain and even occasional injuries to force their bodies into Olympic shape. Similarly God puts us through tremendous trials to take us from the image of sinful man toward the image of sinless Christ.
"God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."(Hebrews 12:10-11 NIV)
In the midst of the race it can be nearly impossible to see yourself becoming more like Christ. Sometimes we're just trying to make the turns without crashing and we doubt we'll ever reach the finish. But unlike ski racing, those of us who are truly in Christ need not worry about falling short of the finish line.
"And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. "(John 6:39 NIV)
In Christ we will reach the finish line. But what about now. How do we handle all the challenging turns God has set before us? How can we not only keep our balance but accelerate toward the finish line? God has given us specific instructions on the techniques needed to race well. To find those instructions we don't need to look any further than the passage at the start of this post.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith."(Hebrews 12:1, 2 NIV)
The first thing we're instructed to do is to throw off the sin that holds us back. Would you want to ski on an Olympic course with bowling balls tied to your legs? Then why try to navigate God's course with your sins tugging you off track? The only way to throw off those sins is to ask God for His strength to do so. Like the psalmist, ask that He would create in you a clean heart (Ps 51) and that like Joseph He would help you flee from sin (Gen 39), regardless of the cost.
The second thing we're instructed to do is to fix our eyes on Jesus. He suffered through the worst of trials for us, his enemies, so that He could adopt us as His own. That truth is a huge comfort in our current adoption struggle. He knows exactly what we're going through and He's willing and able to help us.
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:15, 16 NIV)
That's easy to forget sometimes. When your son is forced to visit the man who could have killed him in the womb, it's easy to forget. How could God do this to us? But on one of those visits, God re-focused my eyes on His sovereignty. He made everything in that park we were standing in; none of this is too big for him to handle.
I pray God uses this difficult course to remove sin from my life. I pray He gives me the strength to fix my eyes on him and not the hard turns ahead. And instead of blaming God for setting this course for me, my desire is to praise Him for loving me enough to prepare me for victory.
