"Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good." Joshua 14:6-7 NIV
For me, one of the best things about being a race director is hearing all the stories from the races I'm blessed to coordinate--something that I really enjoyed over the course of the 12-hour Racing for Daylight Ultra event held last weekend. And not only during the race but for days afterward. The reports of people surpassing their goals really had me smiling. And I must tell you that as I read the numerous posts of the people who had put forth extraordinary effort, I noticed something that every runner who had surpassed their goal had in common.... they had been hanging around someone (or a group of someones) who routinely dares to dream big and acts on those dreams. They "hung out" with runners who focused on what could be done rather than what could not be done and who, either by their actions or words, inspired them to adopt the same focus and to dream big and go after it.
And you know, to see how valuable a mentorship can be, one need look no further than the relationship between Joshua and Moses. Described as Moses' assistant, Joshua "hung out" with this great man of faith who the Lord spoke to as a friend, and no-doubt by doing so saw how God was working in his mentors’ life—ways that inspired him to imitate Moses' larger-than-life faith in the Lord. In fact, the Bible tells us that when Moses sent the twelve spies to check out the land of Canaan, ten came back with a terribly daunting report that left the Israelites utterly afraid to enter. But guess what? Joshua, along with Caleb, said, "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good." Why the difference in perspective? Because Joshua knew that, with God, all things are possible--an attitude largely formed from hanging out with the right person.
So if you're struggling to grow in your spiritual life today, look around my friend. Are you surrounding yourself with people on fire for God that will encourage and motivate you to attempt impossible things? People that will share stories of the way God has worked in their lives to inspire you to trust Him even more? If not, I would encourage you to do that very thing. After all, hanging around the right person or persons can literally change your life.
Heavenly Father, thank You for those people in our lives who are so on fire for You that they inspire everyone around them to seek You. Help us to be those people Lord. Compel us to study your Word faithfully and to follow after You with our whole hearts that we might inspire others to do the same. It's in Your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!!!
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