Youth Devotional - Blind Focus – Im Dong-Hyun

Youth Devotional - Blind
Focus – Im Dong-Hyun
www.CreativeYouthIdeas.com

If we're willing to say, God I know I'm not perfect but here I am,
with all my imperfections, ready and available to allow you to
work through me; if we're willing to make God our focus and
depend on Him, willing to see beyond our past and fix our eyes
on Jesus, the arrow of our lives will fly surely enough to hit
God's intended target and destiny for us. And we'll leave our
mark and legacy on the pages of history.

The athletic feats of the Olympics continue to astound
us. The excellent displays of speed, strength, agility, and
determination continue to inspire us. But there are few
who are as amazing and inspirational as the less-than-
perfect Olympians. We thought we’ve seen it all. A leg-
less runner pretty much topped the list. Until we heard
of a blind archer. Read on…

Blind Focus
On 27 July 2012 at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London a
new world record score of 699 in archery was set. World
records are broken all the time at the Olympics. But what
makes this world record unique is that it was set by someone
who is legally blind – Im Dong-Hyun from South Korea.

He has only 10 percent of normal vision in his left eye and slightly more
at 20 percent in his right which makes him legally blind. In competition,
he refuses to wear corrective lenses while shooting, because they make
him uncomfortable. Instead he relies on his muscle memory and a slight
difference in color in his blurred vision. At 70 meters, he sees only a
blurred yellow blob, but says he has grown used to seeing the target
that way. Dong-Hyun describes what he sees as being similar to
different colored paints being dropped in water. The colors are not very
distinct and the boundaries between them are blurred.

In spite of his less than perfect vision, he more than
proved his ability to hit his target. Dong-Hyun’s sight
may be impaired, but his vision is crystal clear – to win
the gold at the Olympics.

Take it to the Next Level
The great men of faith in the Bible didn’t have perfect vision either;
far from it. They were blinded and misled by lust, fear, greed, pride
and jealousy. They were murderers, thieves, liars, adulterers,
vengeful and power-hungry. They were pretty much as bad as the
next person. Interestingly, the word “Sin” is actually a term from
archery. When it says in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God,” it means to “miss the mark,” to miss the
target. Like these great men of faith, we were given one shot and we
all missed by a mile.

We fell short of God’s plan for our lives, we missed the target, we
sinned. But can draw inspiration from Dong-Hyun who overcame
his physical imperfection to win his prize. He was blind but he
didn’t let his condition control his destiny. Though it certainly
took courage and perseverance, what I believe are two keys to
his success are:
1. Focus – He doesn’t focus on his limitations, but on his target.
2. Reliance – he relies on the feel of the bow, a steady hand, and
past experience.

Focus
Like Dong-Hyun, we can choose to overcome our spiritual imperfection. As
Paul said in Philippians 3:13-14, to forget what is behind and strain toward
what is ahead. If we want to lay hold of all that God as in store for us, we
need to shift our focus away from our sinful “disability” and focus on God’s
supernatural ability.
But what made these men of faith great, what set them apart from the rest
was their focus on God. Their sights were set on Him. Like them we must
keep focused on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith and act,
trusting that God will guide us to His intended target for our lives.

Reliance
In our attempt to live godly lives, we often depend on our own strength.
We tend to rationalize, depend on conventional wisdom, try it on our
own for a while and when everything falls apart, God becomes our “Plan
B”. Dong-Hyun could have used corrective lenses. That would have been
the logical, smart thing to do to overcome his “disability”. He might even
have done better. But would his life have been as much of an inspiration
if he did? We often wonder why God places limitations on us. Why do
we still have to deal with sin even though Christ won us the ultimate
victory, why do we still struggle with it?

God certainly isn’t a fan of doing things the conventional way. If He
did, none of us would ever make the cut. We’re not perfect, we’re
not the best of the best of the best. The irony is God very often
chooses the weak, humble, and foolish things to show His glory
through them. After all, if God always chose the “perfect people,”
others would just as easily attribute their successes to their natural
ability; nothing to do with what God has done.

So even though these men of faith led seriously messed up lives,
once they trusted God enough to make Him the center, the bulls-
eye of their lives, they accomplished amazing things. “However,
as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has
conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’” 1
Corinthians 2:9 (NIV)

Scriptures Verses for Youth Bible Study
1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV)
“However, as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who
love him’”
Romans 3:23 (NIV)
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Phil 3:13-14 (NIV)
“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to
have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting
what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I
press on toward the goal to win the prize for which
God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Questions for Youth Discussion
• Have you ever seen those circus sideshows where they try to
hit a target blindfolded? How do you believe they do it?
• Have you ever tried shooting at targets yourself? Basketball?
Golf? Soccer? Archery? The rubbish bin? How good are you
at hitting the target?
• Why is it that God allows us to struggle with sin?
• What are some common struggles that youth face?
Christians in general?

• What famous personalities do you know about that have had
some pretty serious struggles? What was their story? Was it
a triumph or defeat? Who did they turn to for help? What
are some things they learned through their experiences?
• Who are some of the Bible personalities who had some
serious struggles? What were their stories? Was it a triumph
or defeat? Who did they turn to for help? What are some
things they learned through their experiences?

Application to the Lives of Youth
• What are some struggles you have faced personally?
• Who did you depend on in the midst of your struggle?
• Did you overcome your struggles? Or are you still
working through them?
• Will you do anything differently, knowing what you’ve
learned today?

If we’re willing to say, “God I know I’m not perfect but here I
am, with all my imperfections, ready and available to allow you
to work through me;” if we’re willing to make God our focus
and depend on Him, willing to see beyond our past and fix our
eyes on Jesus, the arrow of our lives will fly surely enough to hit
God’s intended target and destiny for us. And we’ll leave our
mark and legacy on the pages of history.

Need an evangelistic Youth Camp/ Bible
Study Series with an Olympic Theme?
What is salvation all about? What does it
mean to be saved? This sports themed
Bible Study / Camp Curriculum uses the
Olympic Flag to introduce the concepts of
sin (black circle), forgiveness (red circle),
purity (white background), spiritual growth
(green circle), heaven (Yellow Circle) and
(Baptism) blue circle.
Creative Youth Ideas
Go for the Gold
-> Tell me about “Go for the Gold”
www.creativeyouthideas.com/goforthegold.html

Need a Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series
on ”Running the Christian Race”?
The race as a metaphor for the Christian
life is used in several places in the Bible.
This series is a great follow up for new
Christians or to re-emphasize the basics of
our spiritual Journey in the Faith. This
Bible Study / Camp Curriculum has a
sports theme and is great for athletes as
well as a tie in to the youth Olympic
Games.
Creative Youth Ideas
Destined to Win
->Tell me about “Destined to Win”
www.creativeyouthideas.com/destinedtowin.html

Youth Devotional - Blind Focus – Im Dong-Hyun

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Youth Devotional - Blind Focus – Im Dong-Hyun