Olympian’s are not made at the Olympics.
They are made in the early mornings, the late nights- years of hard work- the sweat, the soreness, the tears, the empty gyms with no spectators.
They are made in the sacrifice of saying “no” to things that could get them off course and “yes” to things that get them closer to their goals.
Olympians are made in years of obscurity, practices at 4:30 AM, drills, fundamentals and muscle memory.
Medals are won with that millasecond of a difference in time, one inch difference in height, one pound difference in weight.
It’s daily choices, daily decisions, daily sacrifices that make you or break you.
Start your Olympic training NOW- today. Take those steps. Get up 30 minutes early. Organize your time to make your goals a priority.
The apostle Paul knew all about training your spiritual man for the tasks that are put before us.
“For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.
Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
1 Timothy 4:8, 13, 15-16 NIV
Over and over, Paul says words like “be diligent,” “devote,” “give yourself wholly,” “watch your life…” these are the same words that we use for training athletes. They must devote themselves wholly to their sport, discipline their bodies, be diligent, and watch all their habits.
The apostle Paul knew all about athletics- the Ancient Greek olympics was ingrained in their lifestyle and culture.
As followers of Jesus- we need to treat our daily walk with God with the same disciple and habits as an athlete- wholly devoted to Him, His Word and our lifestyle reflecting and glorifying our ultimate prize- Our eternal crown to be laid down at HIS feet.