HAMM-ING AROUND
Valerie Rae Hanneman
August 27, 2004
Luke 22: 31-32 “The Lord said, 'Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has wanted to have you. He will divide you as wheat is divided from that which is no good. But I have prayed for you. I have prayed that your faith will be strong and that you will not give up. When you return, you must help to make your brothers strong.'” (NLV)
Like just about everybody I have been glued to the TV watching the Olympics. I find the whole thing just fascinating, and not just the competition, but also the people who are watching them (like me!) All of a sudden new names are on our lips - Paul, Carly, Laura, Michael and the “Thorpedo.” We have new terms that we use, we talk about Carly “sticking”, Laura’s “splash” and Michael’s “kick”, sounding absolutely knowledgeable about the sports. The truth is that most of us never watch gymnastics, diving, swimming, weight-lifting and or even synchronized swimming outside of the Olympics. I can’t even tell you if those sports are on TV in between the Olympics. But still, I watch the Olympics. I guess that I like to see the drama of those who strive to touch the stars and those who inexplicably crash & burn.
Paul Hamm had a crash & burn story. The top ranked male gymnast at the Games, he was favored to take the gold in the all-around competition. Only something went horribly wrong. On the vault event his approach was perfect, his vault was near-perfect and then he didn’t “stick” his landing. Not only did he not stick on the landing - he did not stick on the mat - and he fell to the floor by the judges table. For a stunned moment the world was silent with shock. Even the commentators were silent (a miracle in itself.) When the scores came in, Paul had plummeted from first place to twelfth - with only two more events to go. One little tiny misstep and a lifetime of hopes, dreams and hard work were shattered. His face said so. There was no way that he was going to medal. His face said that too.
I have had a bunch of crash & burn stories in my walk with Jesus. Times when I knew that I had blown it so big that Jesus was up in heaven throwing His hands up in disbelief. I think we all of have had them. Simon Peter knew about them too. The same man that would take the biggest step of his faith getting out of that boat would also be the man with the greatest crash & burn in his faith when he denied even knowing Jesus. Jesus knew what was on Peter’s horizon and He warned Peter - satan’s coming for you, he wants to make sure you don’t stick. Be strong and have faith and don’t give up. Simon Peter looked at Jesus, and in his pride said, “I will die for You.” Jesus answered, “Tonight you will deny Me three times.” And just a few short hours Peter did just exactly that.
Why didn’t Jesus protect Peter from satan’s snares? He could have easily enough. He could have arranged for some temple guard to conk Peter over the head and by the time that Peter regained consciousness that whole courtyard time would have passed him by. Think of all the pain, remorse, and guilt Peter would have avoided if Jesus had just stepped in. But Jesus loved Peter more than that and He loves us more than that. If Jesus had not allowed Simon Peter to make his spectacular crash & burn would Peter have been the disciple who preached on Pentecost Sonday and kindled the fire that still burns in the church today? Or would he have continued to be the disciple of “all talk no action”? If Jesus had protected me from my crash & burns - would I be the woman of faith that I am today? Or would I be a pew-potato who never grew up in the LORD enough to live within my faith and His love? Would you be who you are?
The whole world waited with bated breath as Paul Hamm approached the parallel bars. How was he going to handle the devastation of the vault? Would he fall apart or would he hold it together? Paul held it together with grit and determination. He knew his medal hopes were gone but he still fought back and turned in one of his best performances. He inched up to 7th place. Then other competitors made mistakes, and Paul inched even closer to the top. As he got ready for the high bar we were told that if he turned in a good performance he could get the bronze, maybe even the silver. And there was the slightest window open, if he turned in the performance of his life, Paul would get the gold. Paul turned in the performance of his life and I don’t know what was going on in your living room but there was some whooping and hollering going on in mine! Now, I know that there is some controversy surrounding Paul Hamm’s gold medal but it is undeniable that Paul Hamm is a world-class champion. It is not the gold medal that makes Paul a champion. Nor is it his routines or his abilities as a gymnast. What makes him a champion is what it within him - the determination to succeed and the courage to get up from the ashes of defeat and turn it into a victory.
We are going to crash & burn in our Christian walk - it is inevitable. It may be as spectacular as Peter’s denial of Christ. What are we going to do then? The world is watching to see. Jesus is watching to see and He is praying for us while He watches. Are we going to slink out of the arena on our hands and knees, our head hung low? Or are we going to get up, dust ourselves off and approach the next event with grit and determination?
Jesus allows us to crash & burn because He knows that when we have tried everything and failed and all we have left is Him, then we will grow in our faith in Him. I can look back at the times in my life when I had my greatest growth in faith, and they are the same times when my life has been it’s darkest. Look back on your walk with Him and see if this is not true for you as well.
Jesus is looking for world class champions of the faith. And we are not champions because of how well we preach, or how well we lead a ministry. We are champions when we pick ourselves up, grab hold of Jesus even tighter, and face the next event with determination and courage.
LORD Jesus, we want to be world class champions of faith, not because we want bragging rights or because we want to show off our religion, but because we want to love You that much. When we crash and burn help us to have the courage to stand and face the next event.
Contact Valerie at valerie@fresnofirst.org
Check out the e-Ministry blog at www.fresnofirst.org
Posted by Valerie at August 27, 2004 07:10 PM