Christine Caine - Resilient Hope: 100 Devotions for Building Endurance in an Unpredictable World

T here are few sporting events that can bring me to my feet, move me to tears, and fill my heart with equal parts of joy and sorrow like the Olympics. Maybe its because Im Greek and I cant stop imagining carrying the torch someday, or maybe its because secretly I want to be the one competing. Truth be told, its probably both.

When I watch, I marvel at the strength of the competitors, at their determination. Even when I read about Olympic games gone by and famous athletes who beat the odds or made some amazing comeback to win a medal, I swell with pride.

One of my favorite Olympic stories involves a runner from TanzaniaJohn Stephen Akhwariwho competed in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. When he took part in the mens marathon, he started out as one of seventy-four participants set to run the 26.2-mile race. Together, the runners took off at 3:00 p.m., the hottest part of the day. A few hours later, everyone had either crossed the finish line or dropped out of the race. Everyone except John.

Early in the race, his calf muscle started cramping. Mexico City stands at an elevation of 7,350 feet. Tanzania stands at an elevation of 660 feet. John had not trained at altitude, and it affected his body. Almost to the halfway point, as he struggled to run with the cramping, there was some jockeying for position between runners. John was hit, and he fell hard onto the pavement, dislocating and wounding his knee and injuring his shoulder. After his wounds were bandaged on the sidelines, he stepped back into the race and kept running.

For almost an hour, John hobbled. And fell again. He got up and hobbled some more. At times he even dragged himself, only to rise up and stumble through. Officials begged him to stop. To drop out of the race. But he would not. When he finally shuffled into the stadium, most of the spectators had left. It had been almost a half hour since the last runner had crossed the finish line. But to the applause and cheers of the remaining fans, he limped over the finish line into the arms of medics.

When John was asked why he didnt drop out of the race, his answer said it all:

My country did not send me to Mexico City to start the race; they sent me five thousand miles to finish the race.

Can you imagine? I tear up just thinking about it! Johns story went down in Olympic history and was dubbed The Greatest Last Place Finish Ever. What a great description. I wonderif hed finished first and captured the gold medal, would he have ever realized what he was actually capable of doing? Well never know, of course; but what has never left me about Johns story is that in the face of such physical pain, such emotional pressure, such incredible adversity, something inside him kept him moving forward. Fueling his passion. Providing him strength against impossible odds. Helping him press on and push through when everything was working against him. Pushing him to finish the race hed started. And while I have no way of knowing what all he drew on in those moments, I do recognize the strength he had.

From a spiritual standpoint, I want to be like John. Though I dont plan on running a marathon like he did, I am running a spiritual race here on earth. And as I run, I want to be full of vision, passion, determination, and courage. In order to do that, no doubt, Im going to need something greater than me. Something internal and eternal. Something I can get only from God. The writer of Hebrews had a name for this something. He called it endurance.

You have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.

Endurance. Its what you and I both need to keep moving forward in this life. Against all odds. Against all opposition. Against all setbacks, disappointments, and disillusionments. When nothing turns out like we expect. When, despite all the pain, we need to get back up and keep running our race. Its what well need to finish all that we start.

Endurance is formally defined as the ability or strength to continue... despite fatigue, stress, or other adverse conditions. It is a quality built by remaining under pressuresomething we naturally prefer to avoid.