I used to watch the Olympics when I was younger, but really could care less what was actually going on. However, this summer has been one of the best to watch that I can honestly remember! Especially being able to watch Michael Phelps end his swimming career on the highest Olympic note ever! After watching his final event, I was interested in finding out how he started his career and what he did on a daily basis to prepare for his competitions. I found that he started swimming when he was seven years old as a way to burn a lot of his young energy. By the time he was 10, he broke his first national record! As of 2016, Michael still holds 12 age group records! 2000 was his first Olympic appearance as the youngest male to make the U.S Olympic Swim Team in over 68 years. Though he didn’t win a medal or even break a world record in 2000, He didn’t stop. In 16 years, He has won 23 Gold, 3 Silver, and 2 Bronze with his five Olympic appearances and has broken 39 world records. According to ShortList Magazine, Michael dedicated more than half of his day dedicated to training. Because of his vigorous routine and the amount of calories that he burns, Michael’s breakfast consists more than what most people eat in a day; and in a day more than what most people eat in three!

Why all the facts, Hope?

I read how vigorously he trained, about his strict meal plans, and all of his achievements and I was taken-back by, not only his skill, but his commitment and determination! How impossible it seems to be that focused and determined for something, let alone to be an Olympic athlete! Yet, God gave me a thought. Olympic athletes are everyday men and women who were given natural talents and abilities, but because of their daily discipline, determination, and diligence can stand in front of the world and receive the reward of their hard work. They are just like you and me, but what is so different then? They have a goal and are committed to making it happen; their goal just happens to be athletic superheroes on a daily basis.

Every man and woman alive has a goal or dream, which could be marriage, a career, college degree, sports, etc. With that goal, there are things that we commit to on a daily basis and we discipline ourselves. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, “Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just throwing punches. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.”

Discipline - Character

Definition

- The ability to control one's feelings and overcome one's weaknesses; the ability to pursue what one thinks is right despite temptations to abandon it.

Here, Paul is saying that just as an athlete trains and disciplines his body, we are to train and discipline our spirit and our heart! Hebrews 12:11 says, “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” I’m sure that spending 6-8 hours every day training vigorously for a single event is pretty rough, not to mention having to abide by a strict meal plan; not only that, but putting aside wants and desires, like spending time with friends, eating out and/or eating junk food, etc. Just as an athlete has to make commitments and sacrifices daily; it becomes their lifestyle, as Christians we are to do the same. Paul wrote in Galatians 5:1, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” We are of high value in the eyes of God; bought with a price according to 1 Corinthians 6:20, and so we are to “glorify Christ with our bodies”. Salvation is a gift, yet we are called to live a life set apart, committed to godliness, and to surrender our desires and very nature to Christ. The cost is high, but the reward is eternal!

Determination – Focus

Definition

- The controlling or deciding of something's nature or outcome.

It isn’t easy to live out carrying the cross daily (Matthew 26:14). To be a Christian doesn’t mean that you have a “get out of jail free” card, or that you’re exempt from the temptations to sin, or even that you’ll never sin again! Just like when an athlete makes the choice to pursue the Olympic dream; it doesn’t just happen, they aren’t exempt from having the desire to quit or to take that “cheat meal” an extra time, or to skip training to spend time with friends. Paul wrote in Hebrews 12:2, “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” What is the joy set before Him, or more importantly, who is the joy set before Him? You, your salvation, and a relationship for eternity with you! You are the medal around God’s neck!

Diligence – Faithfulness

Definition

- Careful and persistent work or effort.

Diligence never goes unrewarded. It’s one thing to cultivate the land and plant the seeds, but without the constant care, nurturing, weeding, and watering, not only will nothing grow but it will not last. An athlete’s goal is to win; it is their focus and because of that goal it requires training/discipline and diligence in that training! A story that my dad, a personal trainer often uses during his training sessions is of a heavier set woman who came to the gym for help. She asked the trainer if it was possible for her to lose 50 pounds in a year with the gym membership and he, of course, assured her that it was possible. However, a year passed by and she never stepped foot into the gym, not even once. She came back after her membership expired, complaining to the trainer that she didn’t lose any weight, but gained ten more pounds! He replied that she hadn’t been into the gym to train at all, which she replied with a shock, “You mean I had to come in and workout?” It’s a funny story, but how often do we expect the same? We have a goal and we train ourselves for a while, but our diligence and faithfulness wears thin after struggles and challenges. One of my favorite verses Paul wrote in Galatians 6:9 which says, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Just as planting and nurturing a seed produces a crop, as well as working out produces losing weight and building muscle - diligence produces reward. Proverbs 13:4 says, “The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.” When we stand face to face with Christ Jesus, will He say of us, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master (Matthew 25:21)!”Again, think of planting a seed; you may plant a single apple seed, but it’ll produce a tree – the reward far surpassed what was invested!

Often times we get discouraged that the good that we do, surrendering daily to carrying the cross, and refusing to conform and to give into temptations makes no difference and that your commitment to the Lord is unrewarding and unfruitful. Rather than questioning the Lord, reevaluate how you are investing – is it being done in faithfulness and diligence, or simply because you want something out of it? All pain and fulfilled promises in our lives are meant to bring God glory! If we never experienced struggle, we wouldn’t know God as Healer, Provider, Protector, Comforter, Restorer, and so much more! To commit and walk the Christian walk isn’t easy, but as Samuel Johnson once said, “What we hope ever to do with ease, we must learn first to do with diligence.” We will never be perfect, but after being tested, things will become easier to endure, not because of anything we can do or have done, but because of Who Christ is and what He has done for us. Just as an Olympian trains and disciplines themselves for years, things will become easier for them to accomplish and to attempt; this is why they push themselves further, they reach for new heights and feats, and place more restrictions on their life to become even better! Life isn’t a series of scaling impossible mountains, but running a race and jumping over hurdles! Struggles aren’t meant to destroy you, but to make you stronger! To conclude with the words of Paul in Philippians 1:6, “And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”