Ezekiel 29-30 / Hebrews 11:32-12:13 / Psalm 112 / Proverbs 27:17
When my daddy left earth (yes, I realize I speak of him often; he was an amazing person!), I first laughed because I knew he was seeing the face of his Savior, then I bawled because I am a daddy’s girl to my very middle. I miss him every single day, but I am so rich because of all he poured into me. Was he perfect? No. I could recount his faults, but why bother? He left an imprint, a mark, and a legacy on my soul.
I am who I am because of who he was. He was full of faith, passionate for Jesus and people, as stubborn as an old mule, and could tell the silliest jokes. He was artistic and creative, sensitive, and passionate. You did not tell him he couldn’t do something because he would prove you wrong! All that sounds a lot like me. And I’m very proud to be known in these ways.
As we’ve read through Hebrews eleven, I’ve realized that this is one of my favorite portions of Scripture. There are others that set my soul on fire and this chapter is right up there with those. I love reading about the faith of our ancestors in the faith. I love reading about how their faith caused them to act, to obey, to move. I love knowing that they fought for the faith until the very end.
I will be in that great cloud of witnesses one day. My daddy is in that great cloud now, cheering me on. When he left earth, I didn’t realize that he would become one of those faithful witnesses in that great cloud. I mistakenly thought that cloud was only for the people in the Bible. But that is incorrect.
That great cloud has been being added to for centuries with the faithful lovers of God. I can’t tell you how many are in the cloud of witnesses but it’s a vast number. I can’t remember when I first became aware that my daddy was standing there in heaven cheering me on, but it was a powerful moment of realization. I knew I was carrying on his work and legacy, and I knew that he was urging me toward the goal.
What is the goal? Philippians three is powerful in answering that question. I encourage you to read the whole chapter. For time and space’s sake, I will include verses twelve through fourteen from The Passion Translation (TPT): “I admit that I haven’t yet acquired the absolute fullness that I’m pursuing, but I run with passion into His abundance so that I may reach the purpose for which Christ Jesus laid hold of me to make me His own. I don’t depend on my own strength to accomplish this; however, I do have one compelling focus: I forget all of the past as I fasten my heart to the future instead. I run straight for the divine invitation of reaching the heavenly goal and gaining the victory-prize through the anointing of Jesus.”
And once again my heart is on fire with the truth and passion included in these three verses! The goals found in these verses are absolute fullness, reaching my purpose, forgetting the past, fastening my heart to the future, running toward His invitation to Heaven, and gaining the victory-prize. Therefore, we fight. Therefore, we run. Therefore, we do not give up when life is hard. We are running to reach Heaven and be with our Father, Savior, and Friend. We are running so others will also be encouraged to run. We must not faint. We must not give up.
