Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby is the one of the best Christian studies I have ever encountered. The following is an excerpt from the musical of the same name.
Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.
At the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, spectators saw a living picture of God’s love for His children. That year, Derek Redmond of Great Britain was reaching for his lifelong dream of winning a gold medal in the four-hundred-meter run.
As the gun sounded for the semi-finals, Derek knew without a doubt he was running the race of his life. Then, tragically, a torn right hamstring sent him sprawling facedown on the hard surface of the track. By a sheer act of will, he struggled to his feet and began crazily hopping toward the finish line.
Suddenly a large man in a T-shirt bounded out of the stands, flinging security guards aside. Making his way toward the wounded runner, Jim Redmond threw his arms around his son.
“Son, you don’t have to do this,” he said.
“Yes, Dad, I do,” Derek answered.
“Alright then, let’s finish this thing together,” said the older man.
And that’s exactly what they did. Staying in Derek’s lane the whole way, the son’s head frequently buried in his father’s shoulder, they made it to the end of the race as the crowd rose to its feet, weeping and cheering!
Derek Redmond did not win the gold medal that day. But he walked away from the race with the memory of a father who loved him too much to stay in the stands watching him suffer—a father who came down out of the stands and entered his race.
This is the kind of Heavenly Father we have, One who loves us too much to look down from Heaven watching us fall and fail, but who is willing to come into our race, running it beside us and within us every step of the way until we are safely home.
Today, won’t you trust His guiding hand through whatever you are facing? Allow Him to help you in your life “race”?
Christ Above All,
Pastor Mark
