Against all Odds

Hebrews 12:1

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Melissa Stockwell, a U.S. Army Purple Heart recipient, lost her leg when a roadside bomb exploded during a convoy in 2004.  Instead of giving up on life, after much physical therapy, she trained for the 2008 Paralympic Games for the U.S. team.  Her determination became evident when she became the record holder for the 100 meter butterfly and the 100 meter freestyle.  She said, “I can really do anything I want to do, missing leg or not.”

Other athletes like Anthony Robles, born without a leg became the NCAA wrestling champion for the 125 –pound class.  Legally blind Twenty-four old, Im Dong-Hyun, won two Olympic gold medals in archery.  Carrie Johnson, battling an autoimmune disorder that at times causes pain, fatigue, and weight loss is competing for the third time in the sprint canoeing event for the Olympic Games.  She refuses to let Crohn’s disease hold her back. 

Just as some athletes face physical limitations; we too as God’s child experience difficulties or sin that would hinder us from becoming His star achievers.  In the passage He instructs us to: …lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us.  (Heb. 12:1)  We’re to put aside the failures of the past, quit carrying around the past sin that He no longer remembers.  He said, As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. (Ps. 103:12).  If He has forgotten our sin, why should we dig up old bones?

Any great athlete will push through the pain and look toward the finish line.  We need to: …run with patience, the race that is set before us, (Heb. 12:1).  Keep your eye on the finish line, (our heavenly home).  Serve Him with all your heart, and finish a winner.

Recommended reading: Hebrews 12:1-3

Quote:
If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right.

Henry Ford

By: Louis Edwards

Note: The excerpts mentioned about the athelets in this devotion were found in www.beliefnet.com.