Usain Bolt is the fastest man who ever lived. He holds the world records in both the 100m and 200m sprints, and he is also a part of the fastest 4x100 team ever.
It takes vision, purpose, and grit to spend 4 years training for a 9-second race, especially in a world where patience is lacking and when people who don't see results after a month or two give up and quit.
Without vision, the people will perish. 4 years is a long time to train for such a short race. Your vision is what keeps you inspired and motivated to keep training when you don't want to or don't feel like it.
Purpose is why we do what we do. Usain Bolt's purpose was to become the fastest man in the world. Knowing what he wanted to do and why he wanted to do it helped keep him focused through the 4-year journey and grind. Having a meaningful purpose can help you stay focused on the things that matter most to you, it helps prioritize your life, and it helps you walk away from things that don't serve your purpose.
Grit is having the passion and perseverance to do hard things. Training for an Olympic race is a hard, grueling process. It requires a lot of grit to stay on track and to keep pushing yourself, especially when you don't feel like working out.
One more thing that is required to become great is PATIENCE. PATIENCE is just not the ability to wait or to endure something, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting and enduring.
One of the things that separate good athletes from great athletes is their ability to be PATIENT as they continue to work hard for their goals. Bolt had to be PATIENT between his Olympic races but didn't stop working hard.
When athletes or their parents ask how they can become great, I communicate with them that greatness takes time and work. I tell them to honor the 10,000-hour rule. Author Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book where he stated that it takes 10,000 hours to master something. Being willing to spend 10,000 hours doing anything takes having a vision, purpose, grit, and PATIENCE.
There are several stories in the Bible that show the power of being PATIENT. Abraham had to wait 25 years for God to fulfill His promise of giving Abraham a son (Genesis 12:1-9, and 21:1-5). King David had to wait about 15 years from the time he was anointed by Samuel (in 1 Samuel 16) until he officially became a king (in 2 Samuel 5). In those 15 years, David had to run and fight for his life on several occasions.
My favorite Bible story is the story of Joseph. Joseph was treated terribly by his brothers and was sold by them into slavery. His brothers were jealous of Joseph because his father loved him so much and because he had dreams that he would reign over him, and when they sold him into slavery, made their father think that an animal had eaten him.
Joseph was thrown in an Egyptian jail and went through many other hardships, but he worked through it all PATIENTLY and with a good attitude, and after over 13 years, Joseph's PATIENCE was rewarded when he became the second-in-command in all of Egypt, fulfilling his dream and God's promise of reigning over his brothers the entire nation.
No matter what you are going through today, remember that God has plans for you to prosper and plans to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). We will go through trials, trouble, and storms. In this world, we will have tribulation, but we can take heart knowing that Jesus has already overcome the world (John 16:33). As you go through the storms of life and work towards your goals, rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, and be constant in prayer (Romans 12:12).
Through Jesus, we can rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope (Romans 5:2-4).
Have a vision for what you want to do in sports and in life, let your purpose and why you want to do what you want to do be your fuel. Have the grit you need to keep going when the going gets tough, and patiently keep working hard with a good attitude knowing that something good is going to happen to you and through you if you have faith.
THIS WEEK
1 - What does being patient mean to you?
2 - What is one time when being patient worked out well for you?
3 - When is being patient the hardest for you?
4 - What is a thought, quote, Bible verse, or Bible story that you can lean on when you need to feel more patient?
5 BIBLE VERSES ABOUT PATIENCE
1 - The end of something is better than its beginning. Patience is better than pride.
- Ecclesiastes 7:8
2 - You also must be patient. Keep your hopes high, for the day of the Lord's coming is near. - James 5:8
3 - Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
- Philippians 4:6
4 - Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. - Romans 12:12
5 - Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly. - Proverbs 14:29
6 - Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. - Galatians 6:9
7 - But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded. - 2nd Chronicles 15:7
8 - You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised. - Hebrews 10:36
For a Google Doc version of this devo, click here: Week 7 | Patience
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