He Won By Turning Back

by Allen Ketchersid

German Silva, of Mexico, once won the New York marathon with a bizarre and dramatic finish. He beat his countryman, Benjamin Paredes, at the finish line after taking a near-disastrous wrong turn with less than a mile remaining in the race. Silva had been running stride-for-stride with Paredes for the last three miles of the race. With just seven-tenths of a mile remaining, he surprised everyone by veering off-course. Police and spectators waved wildly as he ran twelve steps up the wrong street! When he realized his error, he stopped, turned around, caught back up with the struggling Paredes, and won the race by just two seconds—the closest finish in the marathon’s 25-year history.

What a story! A race that most of us wouldn’t even start, and know we couldn’t finish, was won by someone who made a wrong turn! German Silva’s story demonstrates that, even when disastrous mistakes are made, success is never completely out of our control. Everyone makes wrong turns in life, yet each of us still controls the outcome of his or her life. Whether or not our off-course excursions are intentional, their potential impact on the outcome of our lives is determined by our response to the realization that a mistake has been made. The finish of the race is determined for every runner by his or her desire to get back on course and to trust in the One who runs with us and urges us forward.

In the Christian race, finishing is winning. The critical issue for all of us is how we respond to the wrong turns made along the way. How far will we run in the wrong direction? Will we turn around and get back on course, or will we drop out of the race altogether?

Many will opt to do the unthinkable—continue running in the wrong direction in spite of the signs and the onlookers all clearly warning that they should turn around. That approach makes for a much longer and more painful race. In fact, it’s an endless marathon to nowhere, an impossible race to win.

Jesus said to the apostle Peter, “I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32). All the great men and women of God finished the race by turning back when they got off-course.

“Since we are surrounded by 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” (Hebrews 12:1). Turn back if you need to. God can help you do it! A crown of righteousness is ready and waiting for you, too.