It has been said that there are three kinds of people: Those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wondered what happened!

Former Australian swimmer, Shane Gould, who won three gold medals in the 1972 Olympics, was considered one of the greatest swimmers of all time. She didn’t sit back and watch things happen. She made them happen.

Early in her career, when she was only 14 years of age, a news reporter asked her how she thought she would do in one of her early swim meets in the U.S. She replied, “I have a feeling there will be a world record today.”

There was!

Shane set a world record in the one-hundred-meter freestyle event and a second in the two-hundred. When asked how she thought she would do in the more punishing four-hundred-meter event she said, “I get stronger every race, and besides … my parents said they’d take me to Disneyland if I win, and we’re leaving tomorrow!”

She went to Disneyland with three world records! By the time she was sixteen she had five world records. It is true, she also had talent but she won not only because of this, but because of her preparation, hard work, and her positive self-expectancy.

Only a few are gifted sufficiently to be able to win a gold medal. However, every one of us is gifted in some area and most of us are gifted in several areas. And while we are not all called of God to be famous, we are all called to be faithful in serving him and our fellow man with the gifts that we have been given—not with those we haven’t been given.

We can all be “gold medal winners” in God’s book if we are well trained in our area of gifting, are adequately prepared for the task we want and feel called to do, have faith in our cause, see and take advantage of every opportunity when it knocks, disallow our fears to control us, believe that with God’s help we can achieve what we set out to do, and are prepared to work hard to make it happen.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for the gifts and talents that you have given to me. Help me to know what they are, get well trained to use them to the best of my ability, and use them for your glory and the betterment of the world in which I live. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Paul in 1 Corinthians 4:2 (NIV).