“The trophy is earned in the hours that no one is watching.” – Unknown
As we continue on this mini-series, pointing out some similarities between the Olympics and our Christian walk, the next topic is training.
In order to become an Olympian, athletes train every day for many years to get their bodies into top condition. They must also change their eating habits by removing those foods that are not beneficial to their body. The bottom line is that they have to make sacrifices and become disciplined to reach their goal.
Is it easy? No! But if you asked any Olympian if it was worth it? They would say, “Yes!” Muhammad Ali said, “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’”
We as Christians must train daily by spending time with God, whether it’s reading the bible, praying, praise/worship, etc. And we must remove/stay away from those things that can harm us, trying to draw us away from God, who is our ultimate goal.
Just like the Olympians, we will need to make sacrifices and become disciplined to win our prize. Here are some scriptures that confirm this:
“Now every athlete who [goes into training and] competes in the games is disciplined and exercises self-control in all things…” 1 Corinthians 9:25 AMP
“But I train like a champion athlete. I subdue my body and get it under my control so that after preaching the good news to others, I myself won’t be disqualified.” – 1 Corinthians 9:27 TPT
“…let us strip off anything that slows us down or holds us back, and especially those sins that wrap themselves so tightly around our feet and trip us up…” – Hebrews 12:1 TLB
So, let us not forget what we are training for, which is explained in 1 Timothy 4:8 NLT, “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.”
May the words of Muhammad Ali encourage us in our training as we strive to be a champion for God.
Go USA! Thank you for your time. Be Blessed… LR Maddox
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