When The Unexpected Occurs!

With the Paris Olympics going on in 2024, so many athletes are in Paris right now, winning gold medals, trying to win gold medals, and trying to make a name for themselves. However, what happens when the unexpected occurs?

There's a well-known movie historically called The Chariots of Fire, which depicts the 1924 Paris Olympics and it shows a character called Eric Liddell, who, because of his faith, decides to skip the Paris Games, where he was one of the favourites to win a gold medal for his country, Britain but because it was on a Sunday, he decides, no, I will not run on that day. And people are shocked at this. Why would somebody not put glory, fame, achievements and money over Sunday, over church? Perhaps it's because of his conviction, or maybe he was not mentally well. This could be different reasons as to why people would say Eric Liddell decided to skip that day. Although we do know the famous story that at the end of the day he did end up running that race to 400 meters, but it wasn't on a Sunday, it was on a different day and he does win gold medal. Now, I want to ask everyone watching this video, are your beliefs that strong in which you are able to put everything aside just to please that belief?

Contemporary wise, you see in the world today that we may have different beliefs, but it can easily be shaken by a simple struggle, a simple disaster or a catastrophic event. And these things can make our faith in whatever we believe in shake. Eric Liddell himself was a missionary in China and during the war in China with the Japanese and Chinese, and then later on with the world war two going on, he stood firm in his belief still. And all the way to the end, it was said that his last words were surrender it all or continuously surrender, of course to God. The thought of speaking about God today is so frowned upon in that we rather put it to the side and focus on self-belief or beliefs that are rather flimsy when faced with the reality of life.

In the Bible, Joseph had so strong beliefs that he was going to become some great person above his parents, above his brothers, above his siblings. But when that belief was tested with prison, with slavery and all sorts, you would think that the man Joseph would have given up. But Joseph held on to that belief so strongly that even when disaster struck, he picked a side and that side was on the side of the God he served, the God he believed, which was Elohim, the triune God of the Bible. So focused on this dream that even when he was in the pits, even when he was sold as a slave, even when he was falsely accused, even when thrown into prison and forgotten, he held on to this dream that when it was time for that dream to be showcased when the process had reached its climax, that dream came to pass.

Is it possible again to have strong beliefs like that or are beliefs just buffeted by trends and what is going on online, on social media? It's quite sad nowadays that Scotland, which was so known for its strong Christian faith, would not again really speak of its strength in the God that Eric Liddell saw so much value in that he quoted Isaiah chapter 40 verse 31 where it says, They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary and they shall walk and not faint.

That verse speaks to me so much because in the early weeks of June this year, I got into a car accident. While I was waiting at the traffic lights for it to go green, it was just a normal day and I was going home. I dropped off a few church members and in my mind, I was thinking of taking them home the same way that I was going to go but you know, God has his ways and I went by myself after dropping them in the city centre. Before you know it, less than five minutes later, I am hit by a speeding car in the back of my car, and the force, the very whiplash sends me flying forward. Now after that, my head is in disarray and police are there, an ambulance is there, I go to the hospital, family, all sorts is going on and my car is completely wrecked at the back and I'm just thinking in my head, you know, what could one do to deserve such a thing?

You know, when you are directed by the Lord, you are trying your best to follow him in the way that you understand as we are growing in the Lord, as I am growing in the Lord and then when disaster strikes, there's a decision to make. Do I continue to believe God or do I forsake him and decide that this God does not truly protect and love me? With the stressful times with insurance and trying to also juggle the new job and my business and everything, the only thing on my mind at the time was: 'I am stressed.' I had to make a decision. Who am I going to follow? My will, which was saying that I should go ahead and do whatever I need to do and forget about God and his timing, or should I ask God what I should do next? God in his infinite mercy answered me and he told me to wait and once he told me to wait, a beautiful thing happened. He gave me a peace that is beyond all understanding. He gave me a strength and Isaiah chapter 40 verse 31 that Eric Liddell held so strongly to. And I that wait upon the Lord shall renew my strength. I shall mount up with wings like eagles. I shall run and not be weary and I shall walk and not faint.

Lo and behold, God blessed me with another car and it was all through waiting. It was a struggle. I lived very, very far from my workplace, trying to go to all these places and continue my life in a situation that was not my fault, in a situation which I had no control over but my belief in the God I serve, which is the Lord Jesus Christ and he protected me through that terrible disaster. He showed me his abundant truth, his abundant peace, his great mercy, his great power and all of this is what I'm trying to present in this article. When faced with disaster like Eric Liddell, like Joseph, like many young people around the world, like myself, the person that we turn to is God and God, our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us and rose up on the third day also wants to give you that power, that peace and that rest because God does great things to those who wait for him.

The Lord Jesus is so merciful, he's so kind, he's so powerful, he's mighty, he's the King of kings and the Lord of lords, he's the one that sits on the right hand of the throne of God and this God wants to also give you the same strength that I had. I want you to pray with me,

Lord Jesus, I come to you as a sinner, not only repent for my sins, I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, I believe that he died and was risen again on the third day for my sins. Thank you Lord Jesus Christ for washing me with your precious blood, for making me a part of your wonderful family, the church

And as you've said that, I want you to continue to say it in faith and the angels are rejoicing in heaven because a new member has been added to our wonderful family, the bride of Jesus. This is young people, please calm down, I'm Michael Uzor, hope you enjoyed this article, like, comment, let me know what you think and I cannot wait to speak to you guys on the next one.