MANNA:  July 17, 2012

Romans 8:37-39


From Pity to Pulpit


The Tour de France is, perhaps, the most grueling test of perseverance in all of sports.  Can you imagine biking over 2,000 miles on some of the steepest roads in the world--the Alps?  Say what you want about football players, hockey players and athletes of any other sport, but those cyclists are tough!  


If ever there is a modern day hero, it's Lance Armstrong, who won his seventh straight Tour de France in July 2005.  But, what makes Armstrong such a hero isn't his domination in the most difficult race in his sport, it's that he battled so dramatically to overcome cancer and then won seven Tour de Frances.  

Diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996, he was not given much of a chance to survive. But he battled and overcame it.  In his autobiographical account Lance Armstrong: It's Not About The Bike he describes how the chemo depleted his body leaving him so week that doctors gave him little chance for survival, let alone ever riding a bike.  But, Lance describes how his comeback actually took advantage of this.  Prior to cancer his body was shaped more like that of a swimmer with lots of upper body mass and strength.  For a cyclist, this meant he had one fundamental problem...he was top heavy.  So much of his muscle mass had been deteriorated from the chemo that when he was able to start rehabbing and getting back to cycling strength he focused efforts of reshaping his muscle mass to be more fitting for cycling.  He was already a well known cyclist, but he was never able to win the Tour de France.  After using the deterioration of his body as an opportunity rather than a hindrance, he made a comeback that  stunned the sports world and inspired the world.  He turned an occasion for self-pity into one of a pulpit for preaching to the world about endurance and stamina.  Since then, his Live Strong campaign has raised millions to provide services in support of cancer patients.  That's definitely turning pity into a pulpit.

How about you? What occasions for self-pity are you facing in your life?   What are some ways you can turn self-pity into a pulpit to inspire others?  

I believe faith in God is a tremendous help in turning pity into a pulpit.  Ask God to help you see how your own story of faithful endurance and perseverance is unfolding right now.   Ask Him to help you understand how your suffering might actually allow you to be an inspiration for others.  Such a transformation will allow you to be an example of God's grace and you might even become someone's hero for doing so.  

Prayer:  Lord God, you heal us from the inside out in ways that transform our lives.  Help me turn my own self-pity into an opportunity to encourage others with your strength and power.  Help me to trust that because of Christ's victory on the cross, I am already more than a conqueror.  In Jesus' name.  Amen