The sport of competitive running has been around for centuries, beginning in Ancient Greece in 776 B.C. It began with sprints, and then later on, marathons were added. Since that time, sprint races have attracted even more anticipation and hype.
This is due to the prestige of being labeled the world’s fastest male or female. And also because there is a very small margin for error by the competitors. Races can be won by 1/100th of a second.
Athletes need to have a quick reaction time to the gun, proper form throughout the race, and a strong finish to run their best times. Interestingly, even the speed and direction of the wind affect the times the athletes run, to the point that times are considered legal only when the wind speed is below a particular threshold.
It is understood that having the wind at your back, a tailwind, helps an athlete run faster. This is much preferred to having a headwind when the wind direction is opposite to the athlete’s direction.
We welcome help from others when we are endeavoring to accomplish a task, especially when it’s hard. That may come in the form of physical help, financial assistance, the use of influence, words of encouragement, or kind gestures. These actions give us ‘wind in our sails.’
But imagine how much more impactful and powerful the assistance would be when it comes from God! The beauty of God’s assistance is that it is more than capable of overcoming any earthly or human obstacle. It is divine favour, literally, the push of God to accomplish what He wants done.
Paul understood the significance of such a privilege when he asked the rhetorical question in Romans 8:31, ‘What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?’
The answer is obviously, no one.
To have it requires that we are:
- Aligning our agenda with His purpose for our lives, and
- Operating in obedience to His Word.
So, whatever you are doing, endeavour to have God’s favour. You would be operating with divinely generated wind at your back!