Aspire
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 1 Cor. 9:24, NIV.
If you have no vision of your potential, you have no hope of victory. Circumstances will control your life, and you’ll find yourself sitting on the sidelines. You need to climb the mountains in your life and give it your best.
Peter Nelson, a 45-year-old dentist from San Luis Obispo, California, was asked to join an expedition climbing 29,028-foot Mount Everest. It was very unusual for a man his age who was not a professional climber to be asked to join the 10-member team. But because he lived a healthy vegetarian Adventist lifestyle, he was one of the most fit.
During the final stages of the climb the group, wanting someone to set a good pace, put Peter in the lead. Hoping to get to camp 4 by nightfall and finish the climb of 2,000 feet to the top the next day, he pushed to climb 5,000 feet that day.
As he approached camp 4 his lungs began to fill with fluid from altitude sickness (pulmonary edema), which sometimes kills in 20 to 40 minutes. He spent the night sitting up, breathing oxygen, fighting for each breath, and praying.
In the morning he began his trip down the mountain, while his team went on to the top without him.
When someone asked Peter how he felt having failed to reach the top, he replied, “Victory is in running the race. I had an opportunity to climb Mount Everest. Reaching the top would have been wonderful, but what’s really important is that you climb all the mountains in your life with courage and joy.”
What “mountains” are you facing today? Why not ask God to give you His courage and joy for the climb?
If you have no vision of your potential, you have no hope of victory. Circumstances will control your life, and you’ll find yourself sitting on the sidelines. You need to climb the mountains in your life and give it your best.
Peter Nelson, a 45-year-old dentist from San Luis Obispo, California, was asked to join an expedition climbing 29,028-foot Mount Everest. It was very unusual for a man his age who was not a professional climber to be asked to join the 10-member team. But because he lived a healthy vegetarian Adventist lifestyle, he was one of the most fit.
During the final stages of the climb the group, wanting someone to set a good pace, put Peter in the lead. Hoping to get to camp 4 by nightfall and finish the climb of 2,000 feet to the top the next day, he pushed to climb 5,000 feet that day.
As he approached camp 4 his lungs began to fill with fluid from altitude sickness (pulmonary edema), which sometimes kills in 20 to 40 minutes. He spent the night sitting up, breathing oxygen, fighting for each breath, and praying.
In the morning he began his trip down the mountain, while his team went on to the top without him.
When someone asked Peter how he felt having failed to reach the top, he replied, “Victory is in running the race. I had an opportunity to climb Mount Everest. Reaching the top would have been wonderful, but what’s really important is that you climb all the mountains in your life with courage and joy.”
What “mountains” are you facing today? Why not ask God to give you His courage and joy for the climb?
Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
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