"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2

Running With Nehemiah

Picture yourself running into a stadium filled with the giants of the faith. Those who have gone on before, watching us run our leg of the race we call life.As she comes alongside us, she seems to glide as we move down the track.

In this race of life, join me as we round a lap with one of the great Old Testament heroes, who is filled with great insight and wisdom. 

The next giant of the faith joins us on the track quickly. He looks like an official of some kind. He is wearing a gold chain around his neck indicating his official status, and he is carrying a small scroll.

The man looks at us, and he seems to sense my desire to go out and meet life head-on. He says, “There was a time in my life when everything was going well for me. I had access to the king daily, and I enjoyed the many pleasures of the palace. Mine was a coveted position, one that a foreigner doesn’t achieve. You could say that I had ‘arrived.’”

The man turns and looks us in the eye, and says, “I am Nehemiah. I was cupbearer to King Artaxerxes of Persia. Then one day I received word about my hometown, Jerusalem. The walls of the city were in ruin and the gates had been burned to the ground. The people were unprotected by their many enemies. The news hit me like a blow. The situation was hopeless, and I was helpless to do anything about it. In my grief, I turned to God, and He made me understand something: No problem is too big when you have help.

Nehemiah 1:1-13:31

The rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem is not the story of one successful person. The walls were rebuilt because many people helped one another and worked together. First, Nehemiah sought the aid of his king, who agreed to send him to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls. When he got there, Nehemiah again asked for help. People banded together, family by family, and worked for a remarkable fifty-two days with swords in hand and trowels in the other, rebuilding the wall.

With the wisdom of someone who has rallied a great group of people to do a work for God. Nehemiah shares with us: Motion always causes friction. But whenever God’s people move forward, the enemy always increases its opposition, and that really turns up the heat. When others oppose us, it’s not time to give up. It’s time to get help.

As our time comes to a close with Nehemiah, his leadership is incredible as he shares his last thoughts with us:

“It isn’t easy to ask for help. Don’t let insecurity, or ego or fear make you try to go it alone. In God’s kingdom, there are people ready to help you at the right time, in the right way---people you don’t even know yet.”

“Not everyone will help.” No matter how great the vision, how strong the morale, or how far the progress, someone in your camp will refuse to help. Don’t wait on them. Keep moving forward.”

“Many times you don’t need a miracle---you just need each other.” Many of the great men and women here in this stadium saw God provide for them miraculously.  But you don’t always need a miracle to do something miraculous! God had already provided all that we needed. We just needed to work together. Without the leadership I provided, the people would have remained fearful and inactive. Without the hard work the people provided, the walls would have remained in ruins. My friends, you can run this race well, but you cannot run it alone!

Nehemiah’s Prayer for Us

Sovereign King,

I ask you to give my friends…

courage to face their difficult problems,

faith to come to You before anyone else,

belief that others will come alongside to help them, and favor with all whom they ask

because, God, no problem is too big when we have help.

Amen.

Quotes from Running With The Giants John C Maxwell

 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2

Running With Abraham

Picture yourself running into a stadium filled with the giants of the faith. Those who have gone on before, watching us run our leg of the race we call life.As she comes alongside us, she seems to glide as we move down the track.

In this race of life, join me as we round a lap with one of the great Old Testament heroes, who is filled with great insight and wisdom. 

The man now stepping out of the crowd reminds us a little of Noah, although he is not nearly as old. Before we even have time to observe more about him, he quickly comes along side us and immediately states, “My name is Abraham.”

I can hardly contain myself. Abraham was a friend of God! I wonder what this great man will say to you and me. We’ve run only a few steps when Abraham says with great assurance. "God always does the right thing.”

The greatest test of Abraham’s trust came from God asked him to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac. Why would God want Abraham to kill his son of promise? It didn’t make sense; it appeared to go against God’s promise to make Abraham’s descendants  into a great nation.

Trust and obey. God had been faithful to every promise He had made, so Abraham trusted his character. He finally understood that we should not try to understand God until we have first obeyed Him.

“Perfection is not a prerequisite for God to begin His work in our lives. I could hardly believe it when He called me to leave home and go to the land He would give my descendants. I went immediately, but thought to myself, Does He have the right person? What can God do with someone like me? Even after I obeyed God’s call, I still made many mistakes. You aren’t perfect either, but that’s not important. This is what matters: when you walk with God, your character becomes more like God’s.”

"God’s blessings are never earned. I did nothing to merit God’s call upon my life. I didn’t deserve the promise of the land or my many descendants or the grace and favor of God. They were all gifts. That became crystal clear when God asked me to sacrifice  Isaac, and I laid him on the alter in obedience. God gave me everything, and He was free to take it away. Life is a gift. Be grateful, and no matter what, always trust God.”

We are coming very close to the end of our lap and with that Abraham closes in a prayer for us…

Lord, I ask that You help my friends have patience when it seems like a long time since they have heard from You. Help them……..to be obedient when Your leading seems so strange, to ask questions when they do not understand, to trust You when they do not find answers, because, God, You always do the right thing.  Amen.

As Abraham leaves us, I am struck by how ordinary he is. And even that, drives the point home to me: When we trust God, He can make the ordinary extraordinary!

Quotes from Running With The Giants John C Maxwell

 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2

Running With His Staff

Picture yourself running into a stadium filled with the giants of the faith. Those who have gone on before, watching us run our leg of the race we call life.As she comes alongside us, she seems to glide as we move down the track.

In this race of life, join me as we round a lap with one of the great Old Testament heroes, who is filled with great insight and wisdom. 

The next giant of the faith comes down to greet us. It’s a man with a long beard carrying a staff in his hand. As his step falls into place with ours, he remains silent. Finally Moses, the man who spoke with God, face-to-face as one would to a friend, says, “Live in the faith zone, not the safe zone.”

As we continue running, Moses seems to consider what he wants to tell us. Finally he says, “Each person’s life story is written in risks---the ones taken and the ones avoided. The greatest moment in my walk with God came at the burning bush. The decision I made there that day wrote the next forty years of my life story. It is a decision that brought daily encounters with the living God! But in the moment of decision, it was not easy to make. Sad is the day when a person becomes absolutely satisfied with the life he is living, the thoughts he is thinking, the deeds is he doing----when there forever ceases to beat  at the door of his heart a desire to do something greater for God.” Moses says.

When God called Moses through the burning bush and told him to leave his comfortable situation and go back to Egypt to accomplish his life’s mission, Moses felt totally unqualified to lead. He was insecure about himself and his future. As a result, he had many questions and doubts.

“Who am I that I should go?” Exodus 3:11

“What shall I say to them?” Exodus 3:13

“But suppose they will not believe me?” Exodus 4:1

“But I am slow of speech.” Exodus 4:10

God wouldn’t take no for an answer. And though afraid, Moses finally did the only thing that helps when we are uncertain about our future: He leaned on God, the One who knows our future in every detail. In doing that, he agreed to answer God’s call, leave his comfort zone, and return to Egypt.

"If I wouldn’t have left the desert, I would have never seen God part the Red Sea or deliver His people. And I never would have talked to God face-to-face. During that time, God broke and remade me. I learned humility. You can’t stay the same and learn at the same time. If you want to grow, you need to go.

God wants you to leave your wilderness and enter the Promised land. Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the risks you didn’t take than by the ones you did. Defeat tomorrow’s regret by moving forward and getting into the faith zone today."

Moses’ Prayer for Us

Lord God, the God of my fathers,

Give my friends a healthy discontent. Draw them out of the safe zone so that they may live every day in the faith zone. Make them wholly dependent on You, so that they can do things greater than themselves. Amen.

Moses’ prayer is a little more than a whisper, but there is incredible power in it. As soon as Moses finishes speaking, he is gone.

Quotes from Running With The Giants John C Maxwell