A LONG TIME COMING! This week Max Whitlock achieved something extraordinary: he won a bronze medal. Now you might be thinking, “yeah, that is impressive, but why mention him rather than one of our Gold medallists?” Well, Max achieved his medal in All-round gymnastics. The last time we did that we were on home turf, and that was 108 years ago! You could see the pressure in his eyes as the final athletes were still scoring.
David Boudia and Steele Johnson are the Synchronised 10m Platform 2016 silver medallists. They were asked afterwards how it felt to be medallists at Rio, with all the pressure following London 2012. David replied, (and Steele later echoed), “There's been an enormous amount of pressure. I've felt it, and it's just an identity crisis. When my mind is on this [diving], and I'm thinking I'm defined by this, then my mind goes crazy. But we both know that our identity is in Christ, and we're just thankful for this opportunity to be able to dive in front of Brazil and for the United States. It's been an absolutely thrilling moment for us.”
Paul gave some similar advice to Timothy (4:7b-10):
“Train yourself in godliness, for, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and struggle, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Saviour of all people, especially of those who believe.”
So, when the pressure hits, try to remember: Your identity is in Christ.
Click here to download Weekly News 14th August 2016