A few years ago, a nearby high school girls’ track team had tee-shirts made, which said:

“History was good to us, because we wrote the history book.”

It interested me that their motto was in past tense: “WAS good to us”; “WROTE the history book”. They hadn’t even had their first meet yet.

I followed the team closely all season and knew the head coach, so I was privy to his mindset:

He was a stats guy, tallying the potential points from each athlete and her competition, and moving his runners, throwers, and jumpers around on paper until he found the winning combination for each meet.

He was realistic. He knew each athlete’s potential. There were a handful of exceptional athletes on the team, and an abundance of depth. He set high expectations, and believed his team had an outside chance to win the team title at the state meet.

Under his influence, the team agreed that the title would be won. Not MIGHT be won, but WOULD be won. Which explains those shirts, printed before the season even started:

“History was good to us, because we wrote the history book.”

One practice at a time … one race at a time … one field event at a time … one meet at a time, those girls worked to make their goal happen. By late May, it was theirs—they owned the state team title. That in a state rich in quality competition.

If you are a believer of God’s sovereignty on earth, as I am, you may assume that God was good to them. I would agree. But did he do their work for them? I’d say no, emphatically no. Those girls didn’t get their vision handed to them on a silver platter—they worked their tails off to get that gold.

They didn’t just BELIEVE it, they DID it. Their efforts combined with their beliefs to write their history.

In the same way, it’s not only God writing your history—it’s also YOU writing your history. When God gives you a vision, you must participate in it. You must DO it. It won’t happen unless you begin it, overcome setbacks that come your way, wipe the sweat off your brow, and continue in it. You must persevere.

Hebrews 12:1-2 – “Therefore, since we are surrounded by a such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” 

May you persevere in each race assigned by our sovereign coach, and ultimately win gold. When you step to the medal stand to receive your prize, be sure to wear your motto proudly:

“History was good to us, because we wrote the history book.”