I wasn't expecting to be moved by an Olympic commercial. Then I saw Derek Redmond and his father. It was that unforgettable moment from the Barcelona Olympics when track star Derek Redmond had no way to finish his race. In the middle of his run, he got a crippling injury.
He struggled to continue, but the pain was almost unbearable. That's when a big man emerged from the stands, pushed past security and moved in next to the stumbling runner. James Redmond said, "Son, you don't have to do this." His son grimaced and said, "Yes, I do." His dad's reply: "Then we'll do it together." And they did. With arms around each other's shoulders, they crossed the finish line together. A son who could have never finished his race without his father.
That's me. On the countless days when I've had nothing left to give but a lot of people still needed me, my Heavenly Father has said, over and over again, "We'll do it together." He promised that His strength "is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9), and, sure enough, His strength has continually been the difference. We had so many days when our kids took us far beyond any wisdom we had to know how to handle them. We cried out to the One who said, "If anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask of God" (James 1:5), and His insight carried us through.
When we we've been staggering financially, He really proved, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want" (Psalm 23:1). When they hit us with the words "Code Blue" about someone we treasure, He was there to carry us when we were too crippled to move.
God is the Father who cannot stay in the stands and watch us go down. Even though we've ignored His Creator-claims and done what we wanted to do. Still, He came out of the stands and "when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans 5:6). And because He came back from His grave, I don't ever have to take another step alone. He has, in fact, promised all of us who belong to Him: "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5).
For any of us who are too wounded or weary to finish our race, there is a Father who's saying, "We'll do it together." "Fear not...you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you...when you walk through the fire, you will not be burned...for I am the Lord, your God...your Savior" (Isaiah 43:1-3).