Heroes and Overcomers

Real Heroes are Overcomers!

32And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. – (Hebrews 11:32-34, The Message, Copyright 2002, Eugene Peterson)

People who overcome great obstacles make great heroes. We stand back observing their lives and find hope that we can also overcome. People who seemingly live without problems offer us little encouragement. In our ignorance of their true struggles, we chalk up their successes to luck, privilege, or fate. The heroes of faith were people who faced tragedy, distress, doubts, and even disaster. Staring death in the face, the heroes of the Old Testament harbored a hope that God’s anointed would some day rise on the scene of human history as the champion of all who would follow Him to victory.

Hebrews 11 is our personal Easter story. Gathered in the grandstands of faith history are all the heroes of the past, present, and future. They are cheering for you as you run the difficult race that is yours and yours alone. Ahead of you, on the track, and yet somehow running beside you is your champion. Jesus has already finished the course and won the prize. He absorbed death in His own body and destroyed it.

Don’t look at your problems. Stop focusing on them with dizzying gaze. They do not represent the totality of your reality. Take courage from the overcoming heroes of the past and look to Jesus. Death has been conquered in Him and nothing else shall ever hinder you from the prize if you are willing to go for it.

1Do you see what this means--all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running--and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. 2Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed--that exhilarating finish in and with God--he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. 3When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!

(Hebrews 12:1-3, The Message - Copyright 2002, Eugene Peterson)