Perhaps like many of you, I have been enjoying the Olympics in all the variety of events on offer. I can’t say the competitors’ talent resonates with me – I was the wheezy little kid trailing in last in races and wishing I could be conveniently sick on sports days – but I love watching the power and grace of the athletes as they strive to win medals for their countries or simply to achieve a personal best. We have seen some spectacular results, and quite a few surprising falls and failures reminding us that even the greatest can come unstuck at times. We have seen the emotional energy involved, the tears of joy and agony, the elation and the exhaustion.
I was reminded of this when reading our Sunday passage from 1 Kings 19, about Elijah in the wilderness. Elijah had responded to God’s call with bravery, endurance and trust. In God’s name, he had challenged political leaders and achieved great things. Yet in our reading this week, we find him threatened, afraid and in despair: “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” Even Elijah, who would become recognised in Jewish scripture as the great prophet and forerunner of the coming of the Messiah, could be overwhelmed and lose hope. Even Elijah, who had witnessed God’s power and provision at work in extraordinary ways right before his eyes, could get lost in a physical, emotional and spiritual wilderness.
How much more so for ordinary people struggling to cope with anxiety, overwhelming situations, or for those who find it hard even to set foot on the starting line of each day in the up and down battles of physical and mental health?
Paul tells the Corinthians (1 Cor 9:24), “Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it.” Paul is speaking of the need for spiritual preparation and discipline, so that one may be ready to find eternal life in Christ. However, Paul’s illustration is not an image that would have made much sense to the tortoise race-loser school kid I was. It might not feel that encouraging to those Olympic athletes who, despite all their preparation, discipline and focus, and despite doing their very best, have still been beaten by others who were just that bit better on the day. Instead, we might note Dina Asher Smith’s comment, on being asked how she coped after she just missed out on the medals in the 200 m race: “Get out there and keep running.” The call of the writer to the Hebrews (Heb 12: 1-2), “let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith” (my italics) perhaps resonates more here. Our journey is not a competition to win or lose against other people, or about proving ourselves better than those who have gone before us, but the encouragement to persevere on the personal pathway offered to us through life towards the goal of Christ.
I take hope, when I look again at Elijah in his wilderness, that God recognised his situation and his needs, and provided for him because “otherwise the journey would be too much for him” (v7) – and that even then, Elijah could not respond immediately! And I take confidence that as we each strive to cope with life’s burdens and to learn to become more Christlike, God is with us each step of this journey: in the unique and precious identity he has made for each of us, in the power of the Spirit and in the nourishment of Jesus the Bread of Life.
Lucy G
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