What Happened When God Reminded This Olympian of an Old Testament Lesson
As an Olympic and professional runner, Ryan Hall has experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Through it all, Hall has learned to adopt the attitude of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego: Even if God doesn’t answer his prayers, he will still praise the Lord.
That attitude has sustained Hall through some tough and discouraging times on the race course and also gave him the inspiration to write the book Run the Mile You’re In.
“On the day before my race in China at the Olympics, I was praying, and God reminded me of the story of those three guys and what their hearts were toward God,” says Hall, who owns the American record for the fastest time in the half-marathon. “They said that even if God doesn’t deliver us from these fiery flames, we’re not going to bow down and worship the king’s gods. They weren’t judging God based on His performance. Even if God didn’t show up the way they wanted Him to, they were still going to love Him.
“When things weren’t going my way the next day, I remembered the story and kept on praising Him. When things just aren’t going your way and are spiraling out of control, don’t let that change your love for God, because He promises that He will show up, and your situation will change if you keep trusting in Him.”
For more of Ryan Hall’s story, please listen to the podcast below.
