Running the Race You Were Made For

In the summer of 1924, Scottish sprinter Eric Liddell arrived at the Paris Olympics as the favorite in the 100 meters. But when he learned the heats were scheduled on a Sunday, he refused to run. The press called him a fool. His own teammates pressured him to compromise. He wouldn't budge.

Instead, Liddell switched to the 400 meters — a race he'd barely trained for. On July 11, a masseur slipped a folded note into his hand before the final. It read: "In the old book it says, 'He that honours me I will honour.'" Liddell ran with abandon and crossed the finish line in a world-record 47.6 seconds.

But here's what matters most. Liddell didn't define his purpose by that gold medal. A year later, he left for China as a missionary. He spent the next twenty years serving in remote villages, teaching children, and caring for the poor. He died in a Japanese internment camp in 1945, five months before liberation. Fellow prisoners said he was the most Christlike man they'd ever known.

Liddell once said, "God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure." He understood something most of us spend a lifetime learning — that purpose isn't about what you can win, but about who you were made to glorify.

The Almighty doesn't just give you gifts. He gives you a lane. The question isn't whether you're talented enough. The question is whether you'll run the race He set before you.