Get Up And Go Again

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...Seven times he said, "Go again".'

1 Kings 18:43

'Elijah the prophet told King Ahab that the drought in the land was over and the rains were coming. Then Elijah told his servant, "Go up now, look toward the sea." So he went up and looked, and said, "There is nothing." And seven times he said, "Go again." Then it came to pass the seventh time, he said, "There is a cloud, as small as a man's hand, rising out of the sea!" So he said, "Go up, say to Ahab, 'prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you'"... in the meantime... the sky became black... and there was a heavy rain...' (vv. 43-45). Notice, seven times Elijah said, 'Get up and go again.' You must persist! If you don't, you'll miss what God wants you to have. Furthermore, if you don't recognise and celebrate small miracles 'the size of a man's hand', you'll miss the bigger ones so essential to your future.

Beth Anne DeCiantis had to complete a 26-mile marathon in less than two hours and 45 minutes to qualify for the Olympics. She reached the final straight in 2hours43, with just two minutes left. Two hundred yards from the finish she stumbled and fell. Dazed, she stayed down for 20 seconds. The crowd yelled, 'Get up!' The clock was ticking - less than a minute to go. Beth Anne staggered to her feet and began walking. Five yards short of the finish, with ten seconds to go, she fell again. As the crowd cheered her on, she crossed the finish line on her hands and knees. Her time? Two hours, 44 minutes, 57 seconds. So the word for you today is 'Get up and go again'.

Used with permission from UCB Word for Today. Free issues are available here for the UK and Republic of Ireland.