The Strength to Step Back

In the summer of 2021, the world watched as Simone Biles — the most decorated gymnast in history — withdrew from multiple events at the Tokyo Olympics. She had developed the "twisties," a disorienting condition where the mind and body lose their connection mid-air. Rather than push through and risk catastrophic injury, she stepped away.

The critics came fast. Some called it weakness. Others called it quitting. But Biles understood something the Apostle Paul knew well: there is a patience that looks like stillness but is actually the hardest work of all.

For nearly two years, Biles waited. She trained quietly. She rebuilt trust between her mind and her muscles one rotation at a time. And in the summer of 2024, she returned at the Paris Olympics and won three gold medals and a silver, reminding the world that patience is not passive — it is preparation in disguise.

Scripture tells us to "wait on the Lord" and that those who do "shall renew their strength" (Isaiah 40:31). That waiting is not idleness. Like Biles in those long months away from competition, biblical patience is active — it is healing, listening, trusting that the Almighty's timing is better than our own.

Sometimes the most faithful thing you can do is step off the mat, trust the process, and believe that God is not finished with your story.