The Standard February 21, 2016
Every four years, as the Winter Olympics roll around, we are bombarded with advertisements attempting to hype us up for the likely gold-medal wins across various sports. In 2026 we have seen Mikaela Shiffrin, Lindsey Vonn, Chloe Kim, U.S. men and women ice hockey stars, Ilia Malinin, Jordan Stolz, Madison Chock and Evan Bates plus many more. Some of these athletes might be among the most humble people in the world, but media elevates their platforms so that sometimes the winning of silver and bronze medals almost seems like failing. Of course, being the second or third best in the world in a certain sport or discipline on one particular day is nothing short of amazing.
Many athletes practice very specific routines for preparation on game days or competition days. In order to stick with what they know to be successful, they might go to bed and get up at set hours, eat exactly the same things, stretch and warm up with a precise routine, listen to a regular playlist, and go over identical visualizations of the run or routine.
Even with the most perfect planning, there are many aspects of competition which can’t be controlled. There are the ever-changing natural elements in outdoor sports. In contests like figure skating, ice dancing, ski jumping, halfpipe snowboarding, and freestyle skiing there are subjective judges. Sometimes, the intense pressure of global competition which happens only every four years is something that even the very best athletes can’t overcome; they succumb to nerves, despite their very best effort.
Married couple and ice dancing pair Madison Chock and Evan Bates won the three most recent World Championships and were highly anticipated to earn Olympic gold. They brilliantly skated a season-best program in the ice dancing free in Milan. Although five of the nine Olympic judges ranked them higher than the French pair, a controversial 7.71 point gap in scoring from the French judge helped France’s Beaudry and Cizeron take the gold. At times, even a superior performance will not guarantee for us the expected result.
The frailty of our human bodies often results in situations outside of our control. World-class athletes subject their bodies to prolonged physical intensity, and it is not uncommon for injuries to rear their ugly heads. People get sick. U.S. alpine skier, Ryan Cochran-Siegle suffered from a stomach bug last week, but managed to win silver in the men’s super-G. Gaon Choi from South Korea crashed in her first run in the women’s halfpipe final. At first it was reported that she would withdraw from the competition, but Choi actually continued and ended up taking gold while her mentor and reigning two-time gold medalist, Chloe Kim, won silver.
Olympians and regular folks like us actually see how many outcomes remain outside of our control. Jeremiah prays, “Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps.” Jeremiah 10:23 A biblical Proverb says, “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” Proverbs 16:9
James most explicitly conveys the fact that we do best when we recognize God’s ultimate say in our schedules, hopes, and dreams. “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’ As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.” James 4:13-16
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