Most of us has been watching the Olympics this past week. All the Olympians are great, because I mean, you are at the Olympics, you have to be good to make it. One of the things that has impressed and encouraged me is when the athletes give all the glory to God and not to themselves after they win or compete in their division. I do not remember seeing or hearing about this in past Olympics. I just think that is awesome they are saying it and giving all the credit to God.
1. Michael Phelps
Michael Phelps is an example of how God completely changes someone when they give their life to Christ. After the London Olympics in 2012, Phelps decided to go towards drugs because he was depressed and overwhelmed about his future. It came to the point where he thought about taking his life because he was so overwhelmed with everything. When he became addicted to various substances, he decided that he would retire from his swimming career, but we all know that he decided to stay in with swimming. Phelps took a "leave of absence" from swimming because while he was depressed and overwhelmed, he did not know what to do with his life at the time. He decided that to put himself in a rehab center to get clean again. While he was in the rehab center, he start reading a book called, "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren. Phelps stated that as he was reading the book, he believed that there was a higher power and that his life was not an accident. This helped Phelps come back and realize why he was here on earth. After reading this book somebody gave to him, he received Christ as his Lord and Savior. Phelps now strives to receive gold in more ways than he used to. He always reminds everyone that you should never give up no matter how dark life seems to be.
2. Simone Manuel
Simone Manuel is a great example of giving God all of the glory! Simone became the fist African-American woman to win an individual event in Olympic swimming. I remember watching her interview with a reporter from NBC and she stated that she wanted to be an inspiration to others that was watching. She stated, “All I can say is all glory to God, it’s definitely been a long journey these last four years…and I’m just so blessed to have a gold medal.” Simone honored God when she put Him as her source of strength.
3 and 4. David Boudia and Steele Johnson
After David Boudia and Steele Johnson received the silver medal in the men's synchronized 10-meter platform diving competition, they were interviewed about how they felt about the results. "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," Boudia said in an interview with NBC. "But we both know that our identity is in Christ, and we're thankful for this opportunity to be able to dive in front of Brazil and in front of the United States. It's been an absolutely thrilling moment for us." After David talked, Steele started talking about David's response, "The way David just described it was flawless — the fact that I was going into this event knowing that my identity is rooted in Christ and not what the result of this competition is just gave me peace ... and it let me enjoy the contest," Johnson said of his partner. "If something didn't go great, I could still find joy because I'm at the Olympics competing with the best person, the best mentor — just one of the best people to be around. God's given us a cool opportunity, and I'm glad I could come away with an Olympic silver medal in my first-ever event." It is so awesome to see these two guys be rooted in Christ! They trusted in God with whatever the outcome would be while they were competing during the Olympics.
5. Gabby Douglas
Instead of keeping her eyes on the gold, Gabby Douglas keeps her eyes fixed on Jesus. Douglas told The Christian Post, “It was definitely important for me to praise God because He’s given me this God-given talent to go out there and represent Him and share my faith with everyone. I’m not going to hold it in because He’s blessed me so much throughout my gymnastics career. He’s woken me up every single morning and He’s just been so great to me, so I’m going to go and share it with everyone because it’s a part of me and it’s just who I am.” Gabby has been through so much in her life, from not having a father in her life, to being homeless for a couple of time, and a life-threatening illness when she was a child. While she is competing for medals, she could be giving all of the glory to herself, but instead, she gives all of the glory to God! Before she comes into the arena, she listens to Christian music to get her calmed and motivated for the competition.
I know that there are probably several other Olympic athletes who profess their faith, but these are just a few that I have seen on the television that has given all of the glory to God! I believe as Christians, we should speak up about our beliefs and give all of the credit that we are doing or have done to God. It is really encouraging to hear these athletes talk about their faith and stand firm in their faith and not go by what the world says or does.
It is so hard to stand up for what you believe in any day of the week, but especially when you are put on the spotlight. Not to mention when millions of people around the world are watching the different athletes compete and the people hear about some of the athletes giving all of the glory to God. These athletes have encouraged me and challenged me to stand up for my faith. Sometimes you think you are, but when you really look at it, you realize you are not standing up for what you believe in all of the way. Will you start standing up for what you believe in or will you stay in the quiet? I challenge you to stand up for your faith and make a difference in someone else's life.
