KEEP YOUR HOPE ALIVE!
TODAY’S MESSAGE OF
FROM Discovering a BETTER LIFE MINISTRIES
(Stories of Real People, Real Events, Real Places) Are dedicated to HELPING
PEOPLE FIND PEACE and HOPE
(John 10:10)
APRIL 7th, 2020
KEEP YOUR HOPE ALIVE!
Today friend, I’d like to take your mind back to October 20th, 1968. I invite you to come with me to the Mexico City, Olympic Stadium. The time is 7.00 P.M. The closing ceremonies had just been completed.
The spectators and athletes, still warm from the euphoria of the celebration, were gathering their belongings to leave the stadium. Then the announcer asked them to remain in their seats. Down the boulevard came the sound of police sirens. From their vantage point, many in the stadium could see motorcycles with their flashing blue lights, encircling someone making his way toward the stadium. Whoever it was, he was moving slowly.
Everyone remained seated to see the last chapter of the Olympics take place. By the time the police escort got to the stadium, the public address announcer said that a final marathoner would be making his way into the arena and around the track to the finish line. Confusion was evident among the crowd.
The last marathoner had come in hours ago. The medals had already been awarded. What had taken this man so long? However the first sign of the runner making his way out of the tunnel and onto the track told the whole story.
John Stephen Akhwari from Tanzania, covered with blood, hobbled into the light. He had taken a horrible fall early in the race, whacked his head, damaged his knee, and endured a trampling before he could get back on his feet. And there he was, over 40 kilometres later, stumbling his way to the finish line.
The response of the crowd was so overwhelming, it was almost frightening. They encouraged Akhwari through the last few metres of his race with a thundering ovation that far exceeded the one given the man who, hours earlier, had come in first.
When Akhwari crossed the finish line, he collapsed into the arms of the medical personnel who immediately whisked him off to the hospital.
The next day, Akhwari appeared before sports journalists to field their questions about his extraordinary feat. The first question was the one any of us would have asked, “Why, after sustaining the kinds of injuries you did, would you ever get up and proceed to the finish line, when there was no way you could possibly place in the race?”
John Stephen Akhwari replied with these words: “My country did not send me over 5,000 miles to start a race. They sent me over 5,000 miles to finish one!”
John Stephen Akhwari
Friend, I remember witnessing this amazing display of courage on October 20th, 1968, and I have shared what John Stephen Akhwari said to the journalists to remind you that it is not enough to know where the finish line is; you have to also be prepared to crash through the quitting points you encounter on your way to it.
So no matter what happens in your marathon, which is your life’s journey, I encourage you to keep your hope alive! And the reason I say this, is because hope keeps you excited about the future – whatever your age—and therefore about the present.
Remember Winston Churchill’s famous five-word speech? “Never, never, never give up!”
In conclusion Friend, I’d like to leave you with this thought that God’s power gives new hope to all who might be hanging on to hope by a thread. So no matter what your personal circumstances might be at this moment, your situation is not hopeless—because God always gives us hope!
Friend, our belief in God and our trust in His promises are the only way to fill our lives with hope. God wants to be in a personal relationship with us. He wants us to talk with Him every day.
God wants to provide what we need for this life and eventually provide us with a life that doesn't end. What better hope could there be than that? It’s a “LIVING HOPE,” only found through entering into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ!
With that thought in mind, we’d like to help you embrace God’s restoring hope, by sending you a FREE copy of a pamphlet, containing a message that could help you win life’s marathon, we’d be pleased to mail it to you.
Friend, if you would like to receive our FREE pamphlet titled “HOPE,” write to Discovering A BETTER LIFE,
P.O. Box 1540, Albany, Western Australia 6331.
Phone us on: (08) 418 418
Or Email us at: abl-alb@omninet.net.au
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Thank you for taking the time to read today’s message. We hope you will visit us again.
Ron Bainbridge
Co-ordinator of:
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PROVIDING
Friends, until tomorrow, when we shall share a new message of encouragement with you, may our Loving God lift you up on eagle’s wings and provide you with His Peace, Wisdom, and Love.
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