Who is the strongest person in the world? Did you look in the mirror this morning, flex a little bit, and pretend that you were a ripped muscular beast? If you’re really wanting to know who the strongest man is, you might want to attend one of the World’s Strongest Man competitions.
The last competition was held on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Thirty men participated in this herculean competition. The day began with the Knaack Giants Medley. “This grueling event is designed to push athletes to their limits. Going head-to-head the Strongmen will first carry two KNAACK DataVaults, fashioned into a Super Yoke … then they will pick up our infamous JOBMASTER™ CHESTS for a FRAME CARRY. The fastest overall finisher wins the event.”1 The total weight is 992 pounds, the equivalent of a grand piano.
Next is the Max Axle press. Weights start at 375 pounds. The winner lifted 462.9 pounds in his final lift.
For those who are still in it to win it, they will do the traditional Keg Toss. The winner of the competition threw the 33-pound keg over a bar nearly 25 ½ feet high. He managed to do this five times.2
The brute strength of these men takes them into a second day of competition. The next
event is the Conan’s Wheel, followed by the Terrain Deadlift and the Atlas Stones. England’s Tom Stoltman took top honors out of six events. He stands 6 feet 8 inches tall, weighs 408, has a 66-inch chest and consumes 13,000 calories per day!
If you’re ever in a fight and he is on your side, you have quite a mountain to hide behind. If he isn’t on your side, you might as well give up and make your funeral arrangements!
Let me suggest, though, that there are many who are stronger than Tom Stoltman. I mean no disrespect to the man nor am I disparaging his accomplishments. I’m simply measuring strength a different way.
Paul wrote to Titus in Titus 3:1-2, “Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, (2) To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.” Those who are called to show meekness have the capability to be brawlers. They have the strength and stamina to show that they are tough. Instead, Titus is to remind the believers to be meek.
Meekness is not weakness. Instead, meekness is strength under control. It is power that has been willingly throttled for something far greater. It’s power controlled. Therefore, meekness is actually stronger than strength.
Jesus said of Himself in Matthew 11:29, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Would anyone dare say that Jesus, God in the flesh, is a weakling or wimp? He who created the world and universe out of nothing and holds it all together had the strength to destroy all of those who reviled, cursed, and crucified Him. Jesus didn’t need to call ten thousand angels. He could have destroyed them all Himself.
Meekness reigned in that amazing strength. And, when we see an individual who is meek, we dare not think that they are less of a man or woman or that they are a weak individual. They are demonstrating that they are stronger than the strongest man in the world.
Psalms 22:26 says, “The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.”
1https://www.knaack.com/news-events/worlds-strongest-man
2https://barbend.com/2024-worlds-strongest-man-keg-toss-results/
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