spend on somebody else’ s. You were not only delivered— you were deputized. That church split, that grave you stood over: God means to make it a well where thirsty people drink.
Finish the Race
Mexico City, 1968. Nineteen kilometers into the Olympic marathon, John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania collided with another runner, dislocating his knee and gashing his shoulder. He wrapped the leg and kept running. More than an hour after the winner finished, sun down and the stands nearly empty, Akhwari limped into the stadium— last of fifty-seven finishers, ahead of eighteen healthy men who quit. Asked why he had not stopped, he said: My country did not send me five thousand miles to start the race. They sent me five thousand miles to finish it. bandage the knee, tell the truth about the pain, and hold fast the promise of the One who bled first: These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.( John 16:33 NKJV)
Bleeding comes with the territory. So does the glory.
Sources: A. W. Tozer, The Root of the Righteous( 1955); J. Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership; Kelley Varner, Corporate Anointing, p. 45. Akhwari details verified at olympics. com and olympedia. org.
Heaven did not commission you just to start. Heaven commissioned you to finish. So
Lawrence Powell has served as Senior Pastor of Agape Family Worship Center for over 30 years, continuing to transform lives through his prolific, powerful, and practical presentation of the Gospel. He is a respected leader, teacher, and highly sought-after speaker. Lawrence is the author of several books, including It’ s Your Call and Take the Plunge, Volumes 1 and 2. He is also the doting father of three young adults— Adria Janelle, Aaron Raphael, and Ashlyn Gabrielle— and a loving grandfather to Skylar. 23