Friday, December 28, 2007

The Three Runners

Three runners were in the final moments of preparation for a race. Before the race began, a woman walked up to the first runner.

"It looks like you will lose this race," she told him. The man looked at his competition and his heart sank.

She said to the second runner, "You look like you will run very fast today." The man looked at his competition, and his confidence rose.

To the third runner she said, "The Lord is with you on this day. It is already decided that you will win, and that God will help you run faster than you have ever run before." The man did not look at his competition. Instead he looked to the heavens and his heart was filled.

The race started. The first runner ran slower than he had ever run before. The second runner ran fast because he was confident in his abilities. But the third runner ran faster than he had ever run in his life, because he knew for a fact that God had chosen him to win.

Criticism and degrading words can bring a man down, while encouragement will lift a man up. But the word of the Lord takes a man to new heights, allowing him to do things he never thought possible.

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