Carried to the Finish Line

In the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, British sprinter Derek Redmond lined up for the 400-meter semifinal. He had trained for years, overcome multiple surgeries, and finally reached the Olympic stage. When the gun fired, he exploded out of the blocks.

Then, about 150 meters in, his hamstring snapped.

Derek crumpled to the track, clutching his leg. Medical personnel rushed toward him with a stretcher, but he waved them off. He stood up. He started hopping toward the finish line, tears streaming down his face. The crowd of 65,000 fell silent.

Then a man pushed through security and burst onto the track. It was Jim Redmond — Derek's father. He wrapped his arm around his son's shoulder and whispered, "We're going to finish this together." And they did. Step by agonizing step, father and son crossed that finish line while the entire stadium rose to its feet.

Paul wrote, "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; struck down, but not destroyed" (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). There are seasons when the dream tears apart midstride — when the thing you trained for, prayed over, and gave everything to collapses beneath you. But the promise of the Gospel is that you never limp toward the finish alone. The Father Himself comes alongside you, not to carry you around the pain, but to carry you through it.

Whatever race you are struggling to finish today, the arms of the Almighty are already reaching for you.