"God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast and when I run, I feel his pleasure."
Trials
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. James 1:2,3
Problems are part of human life. Things rarely go as we would want them to. Illness, death, relationship issues, money, work, change - all appear in our lives to cause us stress. In sport the fear of injury, the uncertainty of professional sport are added pressures.
James encourages us to be positive, to welcome difficulties and to think how our character is being developed. Pure joy! Now there is a challenge. I once asked Bernhard Langer why he thought he was such a good player in bad weather. He replied, "I don't really know. Perhaps I just get on with it rather than moaning about it".
Commenting on this passage, Elaine Storkey wrote: "I find it interesting what James doesn't say here. He doesn't promise that God will take the problems away or make our actual hardship any easier; only that, if we let him, God will give us what we need to get through. The trial may test us to the limit but we will be better for it".
Whether in life or in sport let us try to see trials as opportunities and even as "pure joy". If we do we will grow in life and in sport.