Running on Promise Alone

In the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, British sprinter Derek Redmond lined up for the 400-meter semifinal carrying the weight of years — four surgeries, countless setbacks, and a dream that refused to die. When the gun fired, he exploded off the blocks. Then, halfway around the bend, his hamstring snapped.

Redmond crumpled to the track. Medical staff rushed toward him with a stretcher, but he waved them off. He stood up. And he began to hop toward the finish line.

The crowd of 65,000 fell silent, then rose to their feet. And then a large man in a T-shirt pushed past security and onto the track. It was Jim Redmond, Derek's father. He wrapped his arm around his son's waist and whispered, "We're going to finish this together."

Derek buried his face in his father's shoulder and sobbed. And step by agonizing step, father and son crossed that finish line while the stadium wept.

That is the gospel in a single image.

Faith is not the absence of torn muscles and shattered plans. Faith is what happens when you cannot run another step and you feel the arm of the Father wrap around you. "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me" (Psalm 23:4).

You may be limping today. But the Father has already left the stands. He is on the track, and He will not let you finish alone.