Prepare for opposition

"But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.'"  2 Chronicles 15:7 NIV

After more than six hours of running at the Hoka Project Carbon X 2 race on January 23 in Chandler, Arizona, Jim Walmsley crossed the finish line 11 seconds short of his ultimate goal of beating the 100K world record. But with a time of 6:09:25, Walmsley did manage to shatter the American record of 6:27:44. Not too shabby for a day's work, huh? And while those watching could see the fatigue and pain set in over Walmsley's final three-mile stretch, they heard him loudly scream out “C’mon, Jim” as he fought the clock with everything he had. “We’ll have to try it again,” Walmsley later said in his post-race interview. “We’re in the right ballpark and on the right track and we have a shoe to compete with this and we’re knocking on the door. I don’t think I’m done with the 100K.”

And you know, when it comes to giving everything we have, the Bible tells us the story of King Asa who did "what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord." He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles in Judah, the land he ruled; something you can be sure caused him to encounter great opposition from those who loved practicing evil. But God is good and sent Azariah son of Obed to King Asa to speak these words of encouragement, "But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” And those words were exactly what King Asa needed to hear to renew his courage and continue the work of removing the "detestable idols from the whole land" and leading the people to enter into a covenant to seek the Lord will all their heart and soul.

So as you and I join with believers all around the nation who are bracing themselves for the great opposition that is sure to come for standing firm and opposing those who practice evil, let us also remember Obed's words of encouragement. In fact, let us commit those words to memory so that we, like Asa, will be strengthened to work courageously and wholeheartedly for the reward that awaits us. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that the battles we are facing today are the same battles so many of the saints before us battled and won by Your strength. Help us to stand firm for the absolute and indisputable Truths found in the Bible Lord and to encourage our brothers and sisters to do the same. It's in Your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!!!

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