Time & Chance

With the Olympic show moving past the half way mark I enjoy watching the different sports. It astounds me the talent, abilities and precision that these athletes have been blessed with. As the individuals line up to compete the commentators usually refer to who is the favourite to win, who has the best world ranking for the year and what the chances are of the other competitors. On many occasions they are correct in there predictions or the winner and medalists, however there a quite few instances where the favourite is not always the winner! I have said to many an individual that once you are in the final, it is anyone’s race or anyone has a chance to win! I then sit and often wonder why did this person win and not another. Many thoughts go through my mind like, was the winner just better prepared, did the coach and athlete (who was favourite) make a mess of their final planning, did the athlete peak to soon, was the individual that won just more hungry or was this occasion just destined for a specific person!

There are so many variables that play a role in performance and especially performance on a specific day. Did an individual oversleep, or eat the wrong meal, or have equipment problems. Whatever the case may be the disappointment that I think an individual must experience, when they don’t perform like they know they are capable of is enormous. But in God’s word there is a consoling thought and passage. In Ecclesiastes 9 from verse 11 -12 it reads “I also saw something else here on earth: The fastest runner does not always win the race, the strongest soldier does not always win the battle, the wisest does not always have food, the smartest does not always become wealthy, and the talented one does not always receive praise. No one knows what will happen next. Like a fish caught in a net, or a bird caught in a trap, people are trapped by evil when it suddenly falls on them.” The challenge for athletes is to always ensure that you try your best. Do the best you can, whether it is in training or competition. God honours people who give their best and are doing it for the right reasons. Sometimes things don’t work out like we want them to, and that happens. Try and be consoled by the thoughts that ‘I have given my all, I have put everything in that I can, I have used my God given talents to the best of my abilities’ for the sport I have participated in and finally that ‘I have honoured God’ in my quest!

God Bless

SB