Your Refreshing Daily Devotional

Mo Farah’s victory in Rio was not novel. He had won gold in 10,000 meters for his adoptive country, Great Britain, in the London games four years earlier. What was new was that his victory this time came in some dramatic fashion. Midway through the race, he fell to the track, accidentally tripped by his friend and training partner Galen Rupp. The accident occurred while running the 10th lap. He immediately sprang back on track to win the gold medal at 27 minutes and 5.17 seconds. In life, victory is sweeter when it comes despite numerous odds that line the route. I am certain that that gold medal from Rio will be more precious to Farah than that of 2012. When we referred to his triumph yesterday, we traced it to his self-belief and ability to encourage himself. Something else can be added to that. His ability to bring his emotion under control played a huge role in his victory. Imagine if he had been angry at the man that made him trip. He would have dissipated the energy needed for recovery on venting his frustration.

Therefore, a setback should not destroy the dreams and aspirations of those who trust in God. Whether in terms of following the Lord or our life’s ambitions, we can rise to win after a fall.

From our text, there are ample chances for a righteous man to win, even if he stumbles seven times. There is an allowance of seven times. I doubt if that is literal. It is a way of saying that God will keep bringing opportunities to people who would not give up. Therefore, a setback should not destroy the dreams and aspirations of those who trust in God. Whether in terms of following the Lord or our life’s ambitions, we can rise to win after a fall.

In our previous meditation, we emphasized the mutual duty that believers have towards each other. They must be their brothers’ keeper and encourage them to continue. Having said that, each believer must also know how to stir up himself or herself. David experienced a time when no one was on hand to encourage him, but he encouraged himself in the Lord. Let’s learn this from the story of another legendary figure. Mo Farrah won the 10,000 meters race for Britain in Rio despite falling to the track in the course of the race. How did he manage to pull through? Here are his words in a post-race interview: “When I fell down, I was just thinking, ‘Try to get up, try to get up. Don’t panic, don’t panic, don’t panic’. And then I got up, and I tried to just get through it.” Call this personal encouragement. That gave rise to a right attitude that won the race.

Attitude and confident outlook will remain relevant in our quest for victory. However, there may be situations where our attitude and confidence are proving to be inadequate for the victory we desire. That is when a child of God should remember the source of his or her strength.

Next to that was self-belief. Another word for that is confidence. If he had cast his confidence away, the race would have been over for him. Attitude and confident outlook will remain relevant in our quest for victory. You are yet to see a champion whose self-confidence has been severely dented. Most times, external realities are only a reflection of the inner disposition. However, there may be situations where our attitude and confidence are proving to be inadequate for the victory we desire. That is when a child of God should remember the source of his or her strength. We have an inexhaustible reservoir of strength, Jesus Christ.

The next Winter Olympics to be hosted by Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, is slated for later this year. Every Olympic unveils new talents and leave unforgettable lessons behind. I remember the one hosted by Rio in 2016. Nikki Hamblin of New Zealand and Abbey D’Agostino of the USA both made it to the final of the 5,000-meter run. Their advancement was not due to meeting the qualifying time; they both finished last. Their inclusion in the final was because they were tripped. It was the New Zealander that fell first; then the American tripped over her and fell to the ground as well. Rather than get mad for being the architect of her fall, the American encouraged her counterpart to get on with the race. Here is Hamblin’s account of that unforgettable moment: “That girl is the Olympic spirit right there. I’ve never met her before. Like I never met this girl before. And isn’t that just so amazing? Such an amazing woman. Suddenly, there was this hand on my shoulder, like ‘Get up. We have to finish this’ and I was like ‘Yup, yup, you’re right’. This is the Olympics Games. We have to finish this.” In most ventures in life, finishing could be more important than the ranking.

Believers ought to have the pilgrim spirit. We manifest the pilgrim spirit when we help a faltering brother or sister…The pilgrim spirit is about cooperation, not competitiveness.

Believers ought to have the pilgrim spirit. We manifest the pilgrim spirit when we help a faltering brother or sister. When you pray for someone who is having a hard time with finance or family life, you demonstrate the pilgrim spirit. The pilgrim spirit is about cooperation, not competitiveness. It believes that no one can make it all alone; it is through bonding in charity that we can finish strong. Demonstrating the pilgrim spirit can be as simple as giving words of encouragement to someone. I believe this is what the writer of Hebrews is admonishing us to do. Be a merchant of hope to fellow believers; let them know that they can make it to the finish line by the grace of God.

Success cannot be defined strictly by the volume of financial and material accumulation or ascendancy in power. We have seen people with all these yet they are miserable. It is possible to have all the physical attributes of success and be unsatisfied and even get jealous of others. Jealousy is a raging fire which consumes both ways. A jealous man is always nervous – feeling horrible and uncomfortable. Jealousy affects one’s esteem. The jealous man or woman feels inferior to their contemporaries. The likely outcome of this is competition, seeing everybody else as an opponent. This is what produces sabotage in the business world where everything that cuts down a competitor is deemed fair.

Jealousy is a raging fire which consumes both ways. A jealous man is always nervous – feeling horrible and uncomfortable. Jealousy affects one’s esteem…Discontentment is a frame of mind. Those who are not contented with where they are today may probably not fare better when the conditions alter favourably.

The Bible teaches us the disastrous consequences of jealousy. Cain was consumed by jealousy because God rejected his offering while accepting his brother’s offering. As a result, he killed his brother, but that did not end the raging fire. He became a vagabond and a wanderer. Korah’s rebellion against Moses in the wilderness was traceable to jealousy. Korah and his group became envious of Moses’ authority. They spoke against him and refused to obey his order. They died a strange death – the ground opened and swallowed them. Discontentment is a frame of mind. Those who are not contented with where they are today may probably not fare better when the conditions alter favourably.

An antidote to being swept away from the faith is growing in grace. “You already know these things, dear friends. So be on guard; then you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen.” 2 Peter 3:17-18 NLT. Most of the things of the spirit move pretty well like physical development in man. Just as we grow from stage to stage physically, even so are we to grow spiritually. It is by grace that we are saved, through faith. However, at salvation, grace is at infancy. Believers should grow to maturity, climbing the grace ladder until they reach the fullness of God’s purpose. To mature in grace as Peter enjoins us, we must understand the means of grace.

An antidote to being swept away from the faith is growing in grace…To mature in grace as Peter enjoins us, we must understand the means of grace…Grace is administered through hearing the word of God…The more we open ourselves to the word of God, the more grace we contact.

Grace is administered through hearing the word of God. It is instructive to know that the scripture describes God’s word as the word of His grace. We have this in Acts 14:3 and Acts 20:32. Proverbs 8:34 says, “Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors”. Revelation 1:3 also confers a blessing on those who read and hear the words of God. I believe one of the blessings that we contact when we give attention to the word of God is grace. The more we open ourselves to the word of God, the more grace we contact.

As the early Church increased in number so did the welfare concerns of members. Of particular importance were the complaints of the Greek-speaking believers against the Hebrew-speaking believers, who felt their widows were being discriminated against in the distribution of food. The twelve apostles thought out a solution as these verses of scriptures indicate: “So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.” Acts of the Apostles 6:2-4 NLT

If we neglect the means of grace, we become unfruitful in the Christian life. This is why the writer of Hebrews admonished us to come to the throne for grace and mercy.

Prayer is a spiritual discipline that connects us to the grace of God without which nothing gets done. The apostles detected the plan of the devil who was trying to swerve them from the main to the mundane. If you take away the word and prayer from a minister of the gospel or any believer, you see them running on empty or at best running in the flesh. The apostles refused to abandon the word and prayer, the means of grace without which they would have been sterile in the ministry. If we neglect the means of grace, we become unfruitful in the Christian life. This is why the writer of Hebrews admonished us to come to the throne for grace and mercy.