Tag: Dwain Miller

As we say goodbye to the XXII Winter Olympic games, and the world says goodbye to Sochi, Russia, with all of the pomp, opulence, and fanfare that any Olympic games is deserving of, I am reminded of the Olympic Creed, adopted by Pierre de Coubertin from the inspiration he received from a speech given by Bishop Ethelbert Talbot at a service during the 1908 Olympic Games…

The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.

During these games, this creed was borne out over and over again in the faces of winners and unsuccessful competitors alike. In most cases, competitors who came up short of the gold understood that this defeat was not the end, but merely a clarion call to work harder, find that “edge”, and bring the painful lessons of the past to bear in preparation for the next time, with a determined unwillingness to make the same mistakes again.

One has to wonder if the apostle Paul ever observed the Olympics firsthand (the ancient Olympics were believed by many to have begun around 776 B.C.), or if he was merely familiar with the stories of what athletes went through in preparation for the event. After all, it was Paul who penned…

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ~ II Timothy 4:7

At the end of the day, Paul knew he had done his best. He knew he had given his all. He knew there was a prize waiting for him at the finish line, and that it wasn’t reserved exclusively for him. In the next verse he goes 0n to say…

Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

… And not to me only, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

Paul knew there were many who had gone on before him… names like Moses, Elijah, Deborah, David, and Abraham… others who had fought the good fight, and had been his forerunners in the faith.

However, I also believe he knew there would be others after him, with names like Charles, Catherine, Billy, Bob, and Joyce… people who would take up the mantle and track shoes of the great runners of the faith, and continue the race. After all, the race we run is not a sprint, but a long-distance relay in which “the called” run the distance and then, at the end of their leg of the race, hand the baton of faith to the next tent-maker, fisherman, shoe salesman, gang member, or dejected teenager in line. And as the sweat-drenched, blood-covered baton is passed to the next competitor, they hear the call echo from all who have gone before…

Let us not become weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not faint. ~ Galatians 6:9

So what about you, Runner? Are you ready to strap on those shoes, and leave the thrills, spills, and defeats of the past behind? Your due season may be closer than you think.

Ready… Set…

Go!

I want you to join me at Abba’s House for Fresh Oil New Wine, March 2-6. Registration is free, and I will be speaking on Due Season the very first night. My friends Perry Stone, John Hagee, Rabbi Curt Landry, Randy Caldwell, Dwain Miller, and more will be joining me. I hope to see you there! Click here for more info and to register.