Yesterday we started our new series Chase the Lion based on
Mark Batterson’s book of the same name. This
is one of the most incredible pushes that I see in Scripture. God calls us to follow the dreams that He
plants in our lives.
When most people run from fear, others will run in. Batterson gave us the following illustration
in his first message of the series:
On September
11, 2001, four airplanes were high-jacked by terrorists bent on evil. Two of
those planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City. One of them crashed
into a field in Stoney Creek Township, Pennsylvania and one of them crashed
into the west side of the Pentagon. The natural instinct for those in the
building was to get out but on that day, there were heroes who didn’t run out,
they ran into those buildings to help those who needed help. One of them was
Lieutenant Colonel Ted Anderson. One account captures his story this way.
Anderson acted
like a man possessed. As others ran for their lives, he sprinted from his
office toward the point of impact. Spreading his jacket over shards of glass on
a windowsill, Anderson had a non-commissioned officer boost him into the
collapsing building. Together they carried out two women, one of them
unconscious and the other badly burned. Over the next hour, as the rest of the
world looked on in shock, Ted Anderson returned to the blaze over and over
again. At one point, he and the officer were low-crawling through the inferno
screaming to be heard above the roar. Arlington County firefighters finally
restrained the two men. This probably saved his life because just a few minutes
later, the building collapsed.
Ted Anderson
stayed at the Pentagon all day, in part because his keys were at his desk in
the Pentagon. That night, the building superintendent let him get his keys. He
drove home, he listened to 52 messages on his answering machine. He took a
shower and he cried for 30 minutes and tried to go to sleep. But at 1:00 a.m.
his boss called and said, ‘I can’t sleep, let’s go to work, put on your battle
uniform.’ So in the middle of the night, they headed back to the Pentagon
because they knew that we were at war.
That’s what soldiers do. That is who soldiers are. Soldiers
don’t quit.
I John 4:18 NASB
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because
fear involves punishment, and the one
who fears is not perfected in
love.
If you aren’t willing to look foolish, you are foolish.
Faith is the willingness to look foolish. God-sized dream will always be beyond your
ability and beyond your logic and beyond your resources.
It is God’s goal to use our lives to draw attention to
Himself so others will be in the shadow of His glory. That reveals salvations, rescue and so much
more because God loves us and has big plans for each of us.
We cannot let fear make us run in the wrong direction. Run with God.
Let His dreams consume you each and every day!
Through our the Chase the Lion series, our 90 DAY GIVING
challenge and 10:10 PRAYER Challenge we are going to see amazing things happen
and experience God.
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