Running Into His Pleasure

In 1924, Scottish sprinter Eric Liddell arrived at the Paris Olympics as Britain's fastest man — the gold medal favorite in the 100 meters. But when he learned the heats fell on a Sunday, he refused to run. The press called him a fool. His own Olympic committee pressured him to compromise. Liddell wouldn't budge.

Instead, he entered the 400 meters — a race no one expected him to win. Just before the final, someone pressed a note into his hand bearing the words of 1 Samuel 2:30: "Those who honor me I will honor." Liddell exploded off the blocks and won in 47.6 seconds, shattering the Olympic record.

As the film Chariots of Fire later captured, Liddell's conviction rang with a simple clarity: "God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure."

Liddell didn't run for gold medals. He ran because he understood that his speed was not an accident — it was an assignment from the Almighty. That understanding freed him to say no to the world's stage and yes to God's purpose.

Paul wrote, "We are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10). You were not mass-produced. The Most High shaped you with specific gifts for a specific calling. And when you walk in that purpose — whether it leads to a gold medal or a quiet classroom — you will feel His pleasure too.