About the Sport Principle
Like weightlifters, high-level rock climbers stand or fall, (often quite literally) on the strength of their grips. Grip strength is of crucial importance here, and Sports Science tests often focus on climbers’ forearms with the aim of discovering what makes good climbers uniquely effective with their grip. It’s similar with judo. Technically, British judo players can match the very best in the world, but the reason why we are still to win our first Olympic gold medal in the sport is that we are beaten on grips! Whether our top players are intimidated or they just struggle physiologically to take hold of an opponent’s lapel and sleeve, the fact is that we are often beaten before we start. If you can’t get hold of an opponent, nothing else matters, no matter how technically gifted you are.
Application to Life
This particular principle is very simple. There are times in our lives where we simply have to get a grip! Like rock climbers or the GB judo team, you may have lots of talent, even explicitly for God and His Kingdom, but unless you can get a grip and flat-out work hard, discipline yourself and exercise self-control, it will not count for much in the final analysis. We need to actively, even aggressively, take hold of God’s will for our lives. Quit being passive today. The Israelites had to go in and proactively possess the promised land, and it’s well documented that there were lots of battles along the way. In the same way, we need to deliberately and pro-actively possess the promised life that God has for us. I love the fact that the great story of the ancient Israelites’ Exodus out of Egypt and subsequent journey to and conquest of the Promised Land can be used in so many ways as an analogy and a metaphor for our Christian journey of faith. If we have the stomach for the fight, we will taste that life of milk and honey and truly leave the life of desert wandering in the wilderness of sin behind us for good.
“Then he taught me, and he said to me, “Take hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands, and you will live.”
Proverbs 4:4.
Image credit: Anastase Maragos via Unsplash
