"Therefore, tell the people, ‘Whoever is timid or afraid may leave this mountain and go home.’” So 22,000 of them went home, leaving only 10,000 who were willing to fight." Judges 7:3 NLT
In an article posted yesterday titled, "Go big or go home: New Bedford ultramarathon runner completes Cocodona 250-mile footrace," the story of Ryan Pelletier's epic ultra finish was told. What made his finish even more amazing though is that Ryan only began running three years ago. After serving in the military for 10 years — and hating running during that time — Ryan said he was in bad health, overweight and smoking cigarettes. He picked up running to lose weight, starting with the "Couch to 5K" plan and never looked back. During his four-and-a-half day run, Pelletier slept for a total of eight hours spaced out in naps that progressively got longer. He said he "slept in" for about five hours the night before finishing the race. He rested in the back of the rental car and said the 40 degree nights were tough after running in the hot desert all day... Pelletier crossed the finish line in downtown Flagstaff with a time of 108 hours, 16 minutes and five seconds, placing 48 out of 108 finishers, although 180 runners were registered and began on the starting line. Wow! That's quite a test of courage, strength and will isn't it? Especially when you consider that 40% of the people who stepped up to face the challenge dropped out somewhere along the way.
And you know, when it comes to "going big or going home," or giving our absolute all or nothing effort, the Bible clearly tells us what God is looking for in a Christian soldier (that would be you and me) when He said to Gideon, "Therefore, tell the people, ‘Whoever is timid or afraid may leave this mountain and go home." God is looking for men and women who would rather stay in the fight than “go home” no matter how long it may take or how hard it might get. God is looking for that small percentage of believers who will boldly declare, "Here I am Lord, use me. I know that I am nothing on my own but with You I can do anything." Can you just imagine what God could accomplish through people like that? And consider this... Gideon didn't even need the 10,000 courageous men who were willing to fight to beat the Midian army, an army said to be more numerous than the sand on the seashore. With God's strength, Gideon beat them with only 300 men!!
So if God is calling you to do something big today that might have you feeling "timid or afraid," remember that our God is bigger than any army, any problem, any person, any mountain, or any situation that could ever come against us. Trust God to see you through my friend, and step out in faith with the heart of a warrior.
Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that You can defeat any foe that could ever threaten to come against us. Cause us to truly understand this Lord that we would be courageous, bold and ready to face the battles that will most undoubtedly come our way, especially as we see the last days approaching. Help us to stand firm in our faith, unwavering in our doctrine, and uncompromising in what we know to be true... ever confident that the battle belongs to You. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment