When hoping is exhausting

This was the moment. Expectation was high. Matt Hudson-Smith was about to be the first Briton to win 400m sprinting gold since Eric Liddell exactly 100 years ago.

Oh, how he deserves this. After the dark years of 'absolute hell', where he struggled with debt, loss of sponsors, injuries and even attempted suicide.

But now things are different. He is fit, healthy and has been training like never before. In just a few strides he will be Olympic champion.

But no. Where did he come from?

Powering through from fourth place, Quincy Hall surges through the finish line in first place.

An exhausting, uncertain hope

It wasn’t meant to end this way. Hudson-Smith's disappointment and agony were there for the whole world to see.

Michael Johnson, who twice won Olympic gold in the 400m, discussed Hudson-Smith’s reaction: it hit hard because he was not prepared for the possibility of losing the gold.

Even if you are the favourite, Johnson said, you must be prepared that you might not run your best race, and that another athlete might run better than you. You can hope for gold, but you must prepare to be disappointed.

This is the nature of sport. Full of hopes, but knowing the possibility - and sometimes likelihood - of crushing disappointment.

And isn’t this the nature of life, too? We can hope for things. We can work really hard and sacrifice many things for them, but we must be prepared that this hope may not be realised; prepared for disappointment.

In this way, hope in achievements in our world is both exhausting and uncertain. Exhausting because it is based on our own striving and hard work. Will it be enough?

Uncertain because it is not only based on our own effort. Johnson said that Hudson-Smith did everything right - he ran a European best - but on the day there was still someone better than him. Hope is uncertain because it depends on things that we cannot control: competitors, injuries, illness, even pandemics.

We can easily become disillusioned and lose hope.

A life-giving, certain hope

How different this is to the Christian hope! The hope of heaven. The hope of the victor’s crown for those who finish the race of life and are welcomed home into the arms of Jesus and eternal glory.

This is not exhausting - it is life-giving - because it is not based on our own effort, but on that of Jesus Christ, who has made a way for you to reach heaven (Ephesians 2:8).

This is not uncertain - it is sure and certain - because Jesus has risen from the dead, meaning victory over death is won (1 Corinthians 15:55-58).

This, therefore, is a hope that does not disappoint (Romans 5:5). The athlete can know that whether or not their hopes in sport are realised, there is something to look forward to that is greater than gold!

Debbie Bruwer (nee Flood), who won two silver Olympic medals in rowing, but never gold, put it like this: 'Jesus is more important than a gold medal, because a gold medal is temporary. Gold medals will be forgotten about, and I won't be taking [my medal] with me when I pass away… In the light of eternity, Jesus surpasses everything else, and I feel that gives me a wider perspective when I train and race.'

So too for us - when hope can feel insecure with the constant threat of disappointment, we can continually trust in Jesus Christ and know the hope that will never disappoint. In our disappointments know we can enjoy the relationship with Jesus that is greater than gold, and knowing for the future that the best is yet to come.