Living in the "In-Between"Sample

One of the most famous parts of the Boston Marathon is Heartbreak Hill. Runners are often exhausted when they reach this point in the 26.2-mile race. Positioned at Mile 20, it’s a half-mile incline, and experienced runners pace themselves so they can make it up the hill and finish! Tens of thousands of runners have run the Boston Marathon, and even though it’s challenging, most of them have overcome Heartbreak Hill and finished the race. Hebrews 12 uses this same idea to describe our life of faith - it’s a race of endurance. Sometimes it’s easy, and we’re running with our friends; other times we’re alone, running through parts of life that feel just like Heartbreak Hill. But we aren’t alone . There’s a crowd lining the streets, cheering us on the whole way. And this isn’t just any crowd. These are men and women who’ve run the same race, know the same challenges, pushed through their own Heartbreak Hill, and believed that God would get them through to the finish line. Hebrews calls this group “a huge crowd (or great cloud) of witnesses” - people who by faith finished their race, and now they’re cheering us on. As you study the Bible more, you’ll realize these faith-filled witnesses weren’t perfect. The Bible is very honest about their sins and failures. But they didn’t stop or quit. By God’s grace they kept going and kept believing in God. By faith they finished the race. Yes, they had bumps, bruises, and scars. But they finished by faith. None of them knew their role in God’s big story at the time. They didn’t know the end of their story or even all of God’s big story that we have today. But they lived by faith and believed that God’s call on their life was worth living for, and sometimes even dying for. Consider: If God can use imperfect and insecure people, do you believe he can use you too? How can you be a part of God’s big story? Reflect: Use the Lectio Divina method to engage with the Hebrews passage. Lectio Divina is a way to connect with the Bible and with God through prayer. The four R’s in this method are: * READ: Choose a small passage of Scripture and read it slowly multiple times. Is there something that jumps out at you? * REFLECT and meditate on the word or phrase that caught your heart. * RESPOND in prayer to what God called to your attention. * REST in God, trusting in his word to you. Digest it. Fully take it in and process it. Read, Reflect, Respond in Prayer, and then Rest today in what God shows you in this passage we call the “Hall of Faith.”